According to the analysis of Fabienne Glowacz, professor at ULiège and clinical psychologist, this context of separation, the loss of one’s partner and control over her, or even an experience of humiliation experienced through separation can precipitate “the violent feminicidal act which can be seen as a regaining of control over this situation.”
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“Overall, when a feminicide or a domestic homicide occurs, we often see that the perpetrator is overcome by internal tension. Before committing the act, the individual finds himself in a form of impasse, that is to say, he sees no possible way out of his situation, begins Fabienne Glowacz. The person will be increasingly invaded by the idea of death, by suicide and the death of their partner which moreover can be verbalized by prior threats of suicide and/or death after a separation. Disappearing and making the other disappear then becomes the solution, which will result in increasingly invasive ruminations in the field of consciousness and which then risk leading to action.”
gull“In cases of feminicide, we often see that the perpetrator perceives his wife or his ex as an extension of himself, as if there was a form of indifferentiation between him and his partner. And this is what reasoning which pushes the author to think ‘if I have to die, my partner must die too’ The act can even be experienced by the perpetrator as a protection mechanism. by killing the other, we save him from the difficulties which may appear after a separation.”
As a protective mechanism
According to the first elements of the investigation, the perpetrator also wanted to end his life. For Fabienne Glowacz, the hypothesis or presentation of the facts as a collective suicide following feminicide can be seen as an a posteriori rationalization.
“In cases of femicide, we often see that the perpetrator perceives his wife or his ex as an extension of himself, as if there was a form of indifferentiation between him and his partner, analyzes the expert. And it is this reasoning that pushes the author to think ‘if I have to die, my partner has to die too’. The act can even be experienced by the perpetrator as a protection mechanism. As if we were saying that by killing the other, we are saving them from the difficulties that can appear after a separation.”
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At the center of all this, Fabienne Glowacz recalls that these acts reflect a desire to exercise absolute control. “The loss of control over one’s partner that separation entails is a source of tension and leaves room for anxiety, humiliation and personal harm. All of this can provoke a violent act.”
It also specifies that in most known cases, the perpetrators are not considered criminally responsible. “Yes, they present a psychological functioning characterized by certain narcissistic traits, borderline or the anxiety of abandonment, but it is not a question of serious mental and psychic disorders that abolish their discernment, their capacity to understand or the control of their actions .”
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“Our country is nevertheless very involved in the fight against femicide, continues Fabienne Glowacz. There is the Femicide law and in Liège, there is the Divico system (interdisciplinary system for domestic violence, Editor’s note) set up to prevent femicide by identifying the risk factors in a situation and by strengthening coordination between the different actors. judicial, medical and social. The objective is to be able to identify situations with low, medium or serious risk and thus mobilize professionals to intervene..”
gull“The process which leads to the act being committed is part of a trajectory where harassment and episodes of domestic violence have taken place, which may have given rise to complaints and requests for help. In these cases – Here, it is a question for professionals of identifying, using risk assessment tools, the criticality of the situation. But this is not always the case, this process can develop over an extremely short time frame. short or events, a conflict of peri-separation can precipitate everything, leading to a very rapid move into violent action. This is perhaps what happened in Ixelles.”
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And to conclude: “The process which leads to the act being committed, for certain feminicides, is part of a trajectory where harassment and episodes of domestic violence have taken place which may have given rise to complaints and requests for help. In these cases, professionals need to identify, using risk assessment tools, the criticality of the situation. But that’s not always the caseexplains Fabienne Glowacz. Sometimes, this process can develop in an extremely short time frame where events, a peri-separation conflict can precipitate everything, leading to a very rapid move into violent action. Maybe that’s what happened in Ixelles.”
