Abstract
This article analyses the subject and the motives of the crime against the life of a newborn baby on the Right-Bank Ukraine in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The methodology of the infanticide study is based on general scientific principles of historicism, objectivity, consistency, and comprehensiveness. The principle of historicism has been applied to consider infanticide under the historical circumstances of the period and determine the prevalence of this phenomenon in modern Ukrainian society. The principle of objectivity has consisted in the analysis of court cases on infanticide to present reliable facts about this crime. The principle of consistency has aided in establishing the place of female infanticide in deviant behavior manifestations. The principle of comprehensiveness has served for a thorough analysis of the literary and document source base, factual consideration of all storylines of the issue under study. The adopted interdisciplinary approach has enabled to use research tools of other social sciences and humanities. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a comprehensive study of infanticide in the Right-Bank Ukraine at the end of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th century in terms of the subject and the motives of the crime carried out on the extensive source base. From the results of the study, the authors conclude that the subjects of infanticide were predominantly unmarried women in difficult living conditions. Children deprived of life were illegitimate. The primary motives behind the crime were hidden in the society’s attitude to extramarital affairs and illegitimate children. Violation of unwritten norms caused women’s condemnation by the community and close relatives, which resulted in their marginalization. There were passive and active ways of murdering a child. A newborn could die because of a mother’s inactivity or active actions aimed to deprive a child of life.
Highlights
Nowadays, cases of infanticide are increasingly reported in the media
This research aims to present a comprehensive analysis of female infanticide as a manifestation of women's deviant behavior in the RightBank Ukraine in the late 19th – early 20th centuries
The question of whether infanticide or just murder of a newborn baby was widespread in the specified period remains topical
Summary
Cases of infanticide are increasingly reported in the media. The ratio of female infanticide is increasing. This acute social problem attracts the attention of researchers from various fields of knowledge: historians, ethnologists, psychologists, sociologists, doctors, and lawyers. This interest is evoked by both the specific nature of this crime and the component elements of the motivational complex. The killing of a newborn child as a manifestation of female deviation deserves further research. This article discloses the main motives of such behavior, its relation to the family status, age and social roles of a woman
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
