Case Report
Ibishi FN, Musliu RN
Abstract
Introduction: Mrs. Bela was a 47 year old Albanian woman from Kosovo, placed under detention on remand because of a criminal offence of Aggravated Murder. She killed her husband and this is her first criminal offence. She was brought to Forensic Psychiatry Ward, Psychiatry Clinic, for psychiatric examination and evaluation of mental capacity at the moment of commission of the criminal offence she is charged with and the competence to follow the main trial. Her thinking was preoccupied with the event, manifests the phenomena of traumatic reexperiencing of the event and ‘flash back”, with retained cognitive functions. After the event, Mrs. Bela also provided information about sexual abuse that she was subjected to for years by the victim, being forced to perform anal and oral sexual acts, under pressure and physical violence. Forensic examination found hematomas few weeks old all over the body with ulcerous injuries on both sides of buttocks and abdomen area, face and back. Gynecological examination found fresh bleeding in the internal anal and vaginal region. Her mental state capacity at the moment of commission of the criminal offence was reduced. She was fit to participate in the main trial. Discussion: Victimization of women is a frequent factor of criminal behavior, even in cases when they had a relatively normal quiet past and psychological development without trauma from early childhood or adolescent. Conclusion: This case study presentation shows direct impact of victimization on criminal acts in the case of lack in experienced prior childhood maltreatment or abnormal development, and shed light on possible linkage between various and multiple psychological traumas prior to criminal acts among woman, and also have potential to inform debate regarding the gendered nature of women’s criminal pathways.