The homicides committed by women make up between 5 and 15% of the total number of homicides recorded in the world. Studies based on the gender of the perpetrator have been uncommon due to the low level of prevalence of female homicide offenders, but this tendency is currently undergoing a change. Nonetheless, in general, there is still limited knowledge of the role of women in serious crime, which makes the task of criminal policy more difficult. Therefore, the present investigation seeks to perform a comparative analysis of the homicides committed by women (n = 56) with those committed by men (n = 521). The cases in this sample correspond to homicides solved in Spain by the Civil Guard between the years 2013 and 2018. The findings of the study show that homicides by women have distinctive characteristics, with 3 out of every 4 taking place in the family environment, and these being dominated by cases of filicide. The victims are underage males with some type of vulnerability and a mental disorder. The female perpetrators tend to have a partner and live with somebody, have a mental disorder and do not present a prior criminal record. With regard to the crime, homicides perpetrated by women take place in the afternoon, without witnesses and in residences; when it comes to the criminal behaviours, they use weapons of opportunity, above all asphyxiating methods, they alter the scene and do not flee from the scene of the crime.

女性犯下的凶杀案占世界上记录的凶杀案总数的 5% 至 15%。由于女性杀人犯的流行率较低，基于犯罪者性别的研究并不常见，但这种趋势目前正在发生变化。尽管如此，总的来说，对妇女在严重犯罪中的作用的了解仍然有限，这使得刑事政策的任务更加困难。因此，本调查旨在对女性 ( n  = 56) 和男性 ( n = 521）。本样本中的案件对应于西班牙国民警卫队在 2013 年至 2018 年间破获的凶杀案。 研究结果表明，女性凶杀案具有鲜明的特征，每 4 起案件中就有 3 起发生在家庭环境中，并且这些案件以filicide案件为主。受害者是具有某种脆弱性和精神障碍的未成年男性。女性肇事者往往有伴侣并与某人同住，患有精神障碍并且没有犯罪记录。在犯罪方面，妇女犯下的凶杀案发生在下午，没有证人，而且发生在住宅内；在涉及犯罪行为时，他们使用机会武器，尤其是窒息方法，他们改变现场而不是逃离犯罪现场。