Women are responsible for only 10 per cent of homicides in Australia, Canada, England, and the US, and because it’s such a small sample size not much research has been done into the motives and behaviours that drive female killers.

Dr. Kathryn M. Whiteley, a feminist criminologist, has been researching women who kill for over 20 years. She’s spoken to hundreds of women behind bars, many of whom are serving life sentences with no chance of parole.

Dr. Whiteley’s focus is on telling their stories and understanding their experiences and perspectives in their own words.

You can listen to Dr Kathryn’s conversations on her podcast Self Identities: Conversations With Convicted Women here.

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CREDITS

Guest: Kathryn M. Whiteley

Host: Gemma Bath

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.