Mercy Killing: For older, sick women, family relationships may be fatal

Women are more likely than men to die as a result of mercy killing by family members, while men, particularly husbands, are more likely to be in the role of the mercy killer, Silvia Sara Canetto (Colorado State University/USA) reports.

"The gender imbalance in death by mercy killing is not simply a function of women´s greater longevity. The age of persons who die of mercy killing is relatively low for older adults, and is basically the same for females and males.

In situations of need, women cannot count on their spouse´s help in the same way as men can. For example, married women with disabilities are far less likely to receive care from their spouses than the other way around. Having a spouse results in reduced nursing home stay for men but not women."

Canetto considers "two main explanations for gender patterns of mercy killing: as an act of compassion or as an act of violence." Canetto concluded "that treating mercy killing as an act of violence helps to better understand its gender dynamics than viewing it as an act of love."

Canetto suggests: "Public policy needs to address the vulnerability of women to mercy killing. Public policy ought to address the fact that the persons bringing about these violent deaths tend to be their male relatives."