Homicide-suicide cases during the COVID-19 lockdown in Pakistan: content analysis of newspaper reports

Abstract

Homicide-suicide is a tragic event characterized by multiple fatalities within the intimate relationships, familial bonds, and community networks. Our aim was to explore the extent of coverage of homicide-suicide cases in the newspaper reports delivered in Pakistan during the COVID-19 lockdown (March–August 2020). We conducted a quantitative content analysis of news- reports obtained from eight Pakistani newspapers published in English and Urdu languages and daily reviewed by the authors. A total of 50 news-reports have been selected and analyzed, documenting 107 deaths due to homicide-suicide incidents. The majority of these cases involved male perpetrators within family settings, such as parent-child and spousal/married couples, often attributed to factors such us familial discordance and poverty. Negligibly, reasons for homicide-suicides included mental health issues of the perpetrators. Gunshot wounds emerged as the most prevalent method of homicide-suicide. Given the familial backgrounds in most of cases, it is likely that they occurred within the domestic environments. These findings may suggest the need of specific family interventions across the country in order to prevent family discordances or cope with relevant issues within the families, as both may contribute to homicidal and suicidal incidents, either independently or concurrently.