following the termination of a relationship. An Australian study found that of a sample of uxoricide cases, 47% of women were murdered by their male intimate partner within two months of separating. Sexual jealousy may be a possible reason for this heightened risk following separation. Partner separation Another risk factor for uxoricide is estrangement. Women who choose to leave their partner are at higher risk of spousal homicide. These crimes have been termed "abandonment homicides", and are most commonly committed by men with childhood histories of abandonment and trauma, in conjunction with markedly low serotonin levels and frontal cortex damage that contribute to poor impulse control. The male is more likely to kill his mate before she has had the chance to form a new relationship with another man as he fears she will then devote her reproductive resources to a male rival's offspring. Therefore, by killing his partner he will avoid the reputational damage associated with intrasexual competition and will eliminate the chances of another man having access to a high value mate. This also explains why those women who have had children from a previous relationship are at higher risk of spousal homicide compared with those who have only had children with their current partner. The female partner has already devoted her reproductive resources to another man, therefore when she establishes a new relationship, the male becomes involved in the upbringing of another man's offspring which will damage his hierarchical status amongst intrasexual rivals. Age The greater age disparity between spouses, the higher risk of spousal homicide. For a male, the damage associated with infidelity is greater when the partner is younger. A woman's fertility decreases as she gets older, therefore, age is key indicator of reproductive success. As a result, a man will place high levels of importance on a mate with greater reproductive value. A man is more likely to engage in "hands on" killing methods when the mate has high reproductive value. "Hands on" refers to more violent methods such as using weapons, drowning, stabbing and strangling. Culture and law Some instances of uxoricide are facilitated by the culture of the victim and the perpetrator. For example, honor killings, whereby a man kills his wife because she has brought shame upon their family, are approved in some male-dominated, patriarchal societies. Approximately 42% of female victims of honour killings worldwide were killed because it was believed