Oman- A horrific crime that took place in Karak Governorate, southern Jordan, brought to light the seriousness of violence within the family and the need to deal seriously with its causes, after the recurrence of family crimes in the country over short periods of time in a scene that raises mounting societal concern.
In an incident that shook public opinion, a father stabbed his three children to death, inflicting fatal blows on them in the heart, stomach, and neck, in front of each other’s eyes, in a scene devoid of mercy, out of revenge against their mother.
This crime raised profound questions about the reasons for the escalation of this type of violence within the family, and the limits of societal and institutional responsibility in preventing it, at a time when similar incidents are repeated within a short period of time.
During the past months, Jordan witnessed similar crimes, as a mother killed her two daughters before ending her life in an incident linked to family disputes, and in a previous incident, a father threw his two children into a stream in Zarqa Governorate.
A disturbing pattern
Experts say that these facts, which intersect in their motives, indicate a disturbing pattern of domestic violence linked to psychological and social crises.
During the year 2025, the number of crimes related to the family context that Jordan witnessed reached 17 murders and deaths, distributed between 13 females and 7 males, according to the Jordanian Women’s Solidarity Institute Association “Tadamon.” It included murders within the family, cases under family suspicion, in addition to unsolved deaths and accidental incidents that occurred inside homes.
The data, a copy of which was obtained by Al Jazeera Net, showed that the year 2025, despite recording a lower number of crimes compared to previous years, witnessed dangerous patterns of fatal domestic violence, especially against women, girls and children, in methods characterized by cruelty and direct physical violence.
Dissociation and loss of empathy
Dr. Haneen Al-Batoush, a psychological consultant specializing in family and education issues, believes that understanding these crimes requires going beyond the trauma of the event to analyzing its psychological roots, noting that whoever reaches the point of killing his children is not motivated by a fleeting moment of anger, but rather the result of deep psychological accumulations that lead him to a state of emotional separation and loss of the ability to empathize.
She explained in a statement to Al Jazeera Net that the perpetrator may look at the child, in light of a distorted awareness, as a means of revenge, releasing anger, or proving control, which reflects a defect in the value and emotional system, which often intersects with a history of violence, untreated trauma, or a chronic sense of helplessness and failure.
Haneen adds that these cases are often surrounded by stifling family pressures, the disintegration of marital relationships, social isolation, and economic crises, which deepen the feeling of psychological suffocation. It also warns that these crimes are not isolated cases, but rather indicators of a pattern that is repeated in certain circumstances, and reveals a weakness in early intervention despite the presence of warning signs such as threats, severe outbursts of anger, isolation, and aggressive speech, which are often not taken seriously.
Revenge and control under pressure
For his part, Dr. Atef Al-Qasim, a clinical psychologist and president of the Association for Psychological Sciences in Jordan, explained to Al Jazeera Net that these crimes cannot be explained by a single factor, but rather are the result of a complex interaction between psychological factors and stressful social contexts.
In this context, killing children is classified as a crime of “revenge against a partner,” as children are viewed as an extension of him, which prompts the perpetrator to harm them in order to inflict the greatest amount of pain on the other party. This is associated with impulsive and selfish thinking patterns, along with disorders of empathy or narcissistic and aggressive traits.
He also points out that severe psychological pressures, such as severe marital disputes, feelings of humiliation, or morbid jealousy, may lead to what is known as “tunnel thinking,” where perception is narrowed and disastrous decisions are made. In some cases, severe psychological disorders may play a role, although they are not always the sole cause.
Al-Qassim links these crimes to a broader context of chronic, untreated domestic violence, weak channels for conflict resolution, social isolation, and economic pressures, stressing that prevention begins with early intervention through family counseling centers, support lines, and enhancing awareness of anger management.
The breakdown of relationships and the culture of violence
In turn, Professor of Sociology and Criminology, Dr. Hussein Mahadin, explains to Al Jazeera Net that these crimes reflect tense psychological accumulations within marital relationships, often in the absence of balanced socialization.
He confirms that unequal relations and poor compatibility between spouses are among the most prominent factors in family disintegration, pointing out that the spread of scenes of violence and misuse of technology have contributed to the consolidation of aggressive behaviors, which may be imitated within what he describes as “image culture.”
Mahadin also links the high rates of divorce in the first years of marriage to weak psychological and social preparedness, warning against generalization or stigmatization by society, stressing that these crimes remain individual acts, but they reveal the need for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon.
Revenge motive
For his part, an official Jordanian security source confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that the majority of crimes of this type are committed out of revenge, noting that the perpetrators often justify their actions by a desire to take revenge on their partner, a motive he described as illogical and irrational.
The source, who requested to remain anonymous, explained that many marital disputes that seemed complicated later ended in reconciliation, especially as the children grew older and became a link between the two parties.
The source confirmed that the biggest loser in these crimes is the perpetrator himself, as he spends the rest of his life behind bars, and may face the death penalty if the sentence is carried out.
The necessity of discrimination
Psychiatry consultant Alaa Al-Faroukh stresses to Al-Jazeera Net the need to distinguish between crimes committed out of premeditated revenge, and a quick interpretation of them as resulting from psychological illnesses, stressing that this link is not accurate in most cases.
He says that many of the perpetrators of these crimes do not necessarily suffer from traditional psychological disorders, but rather they may have deep problems in the structure of the personality, especially when a person who is supposed to be a source of security, such as a father, turns into a source of threat to his children, which reflects a serious defect that requires attention.
Al-Faroukh calls for adopting the concept of “psychological rehabilitation before marriage,” by preparing those about to get married psychologically and making them aware of their roles and responsibilities within the family, considering that the absence of this rehabilitation contributes to the exacerbation of family crises that may end in tragic outcomes.
At the level of services, he points out that there is a gap between the needs of society and the available mental health services, despite the efforts made by government institutions, pointing out that the number of qualified cadres is still less than the size of the demand, while the private sector represents a financial burden but is not available to everyone because of the cost.
Al-Faroukh stresses that the current stage requires strengthening mental health services, increasing the number of specialists, in addition to developing a comprehensive national strategy capable of responding to the size of the increasing challenges in this field.
The Jordanian Women’s Solidarity Institute Association “Sadamon” stresses the importance of concerted official and national efforts to reduce these crimes, strengthen early protection tools for women and children, and ensure accountability and non-impunity.
It also calls for reconsidering the abolition of the personal right in cases of domestic violence, affirming its commitment to continuing to monitor and analyze these crimes, and to advocate for reducing them, to protect the Jordanian family, and to preserve the right of women and children to life, safety, and human dignity.
