Medea Syndrome: What It Is And What Are Its Characteristics
Unfortunately, in recent years there have been a high number of cases of murder and violence towards children by one parent with the aim of revenge or causing harm and suffering to the other parent; usually after a separation of the couple.
Medea syndrome has been used to refer to those cases in which one of the parents decides to harm their child, both physically and psychologically, in order to cause harm and suffering to the other parent. This syndrome could be considered within the category of vicarious violence.
In this article We will see what Medea syndrome consists of and their characteristics.
Medea syndrome in the field of psychology has been used to refer to those cases in which one of the parents decide to harm their child, both physically and psychologically, in order to cause harm and suffering to the other parent.
This type of violence is normally committed against minor children, although cases of violence against another person or some property that is highly valued by the abused person have also been found (e.g., causing harm to the parents of their child). ex-partner, destroying any of their property, etc.); However, in Medea syndrome we talk more about the damage caused to the children they have in common.
The ways of causing this harm to children can be very diverse and this could also be due to several factors (e.g. culture, country, social, political and/or economic environment, etc.). Unfortunately, in research carried out on this type of cases, all types of situations that can be related to Medea syndrome have been documented, and situations of verbal or psychological and physical violence can be found through insults, severe punishments or insults, among others. modes of violence.
In the most serious cases, there have been people who have gone so far as to murder their children in order to cause the other parent to suffer. On the other hand, These types of acts have been called in other ways such as “violence by substitution” or “vicarious violence.”.
Where does the name of this myth come from?
The origin of Medea syndrome is found in the myth of Medea, which speaks of a woman sorceress and priestess who ended the lives of her children in order to take revenge on her father. In the story about this myth it is said that Medea, the daughter of the nymph Idia and the king of Colchis, Aeetes, and was also the granddaughter of Helios, the god of the Sun. Medea was the priestess of Hecate, and she was considered by her followers to be the mother who possessed the knowledge of sorcery. This is why Medea could be considered the archetype of a sorceress or witch, contrary to the ideal prototype of Greek mythology.
The development of the myth of Medea arose from a story in which it is explained that Jason and the Argonauts arrived in Colchis, the kingdom of Medea’s father, looking for the golden fleece. Athena and Hera, the goddesses in charge of protecting Jason and his companions, asked Medea to marry Jason and support him in his mission. It was not difficult for that request to be fulfilled, since Medea was captivated by seeing Jason, nor was it difficult for her to join him in pursuing her goals.
However, The king of Colchis and father of Medea did not make it easy for Jason and he entrusted him with some tasks that he had to complete if he wanted to get the golden fleece. The myth of Medea tells that this sorceress helped Jason overcome these tests, making him invulnerable to obstacles, so that it was thanks to her that he managed to overcome them.
After a series of challenges that Jason and Medea had to face, they managed to settle in Corinth, where they were well received by King Creon. There they lived a good time together, even having two children. However, there came a day when Jason fell in love with Glauce, the king’s daughter, and conflicts between the couple began. Medea, apparently, accepted the engagement between Jason and Glauce, even going so far as to give the young woman a dress; But when she put it on, the dress caught fire and, after that, she ended up burning the entire palace.
After having devastated everything, Medea knew that the Corinthians would retaliate against her and her two sons. For this reason, the myth tells that it was when Medea made the decision to end the life of her two sons before the Corinthians did. There is also another version of this myth in which it is said that Medea’s children were murdered by the Corinthians to take revenge on her. What both versions do seem to agree on is the fact that, after the murder of her two children, Medea fled to Athens, where she remarried and had another son, Medo.
The last thing that is told about her story is that she would end up being forgiven in Colchis, her place of origin. Furthermore, the myth of Medea concludes by narrating that Medea achieved immortality and that she lives for posterity in the Elysian Fields.
Main characteristics of Medea syndrome
After analyzing numerous cases of Medea syndrome or vicarious violence, some experts have been able to observe a characteristic psychological profile of those people who commit acts of violence against their children in order to cause harm to the other parent. These types of profiles usually share a series of characteristics among which are those that we are going to list below:
However, although these characteristics could have been found in a notable portion of those subjects who committed this type of act, The fact that a person has one or more of these characteristics does not mean that he or she will commit such a crime. Therefore, it is important that Medea syndrome be diagnosed by a professional, having previously carried out the relevant evaluations.
Some examples of Medea syndrome
In recent decades there have been cases related to Medea syndrome such as those that we are going to briefly explain below and that will probably be familiar to many of you.
1. Case of José Bretón
In 2011, there was a very high-profile case due to the impact it had through the different media due to the seriousness of the matter. A man known as José Bretón ended the lives of his two youngest children, 2 and 6 years old, in the Spanish town of Córdoba. After committing the acts, she decided to burn the bodies of the two little ones in order to leave no traces.
In 2013, José Bretón would end up being sentenced to 40 years in prison for this and it is notable that these acts were committed because of revenge against his wife due to a divorce proposal.
2. Case of David Oubel
Years after the José Bretón case, in 2015, a man named Davis Oubel murdered his two daughters, aged 4 and 9, in a town in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), being another case of vicarious violence. in which the objective was to take revenge on his wife. In 2017, David Oubel was sentenced to life in prison.
3. Case of Tomás Gimeno
In 2021, on the Spanish island of Tenerife, a man known as Tomás Gimeno kidnapped his two daughters, ages 1 and 6. 45 days after the kidnapping, the body of the eldest daughter was found at the bottom of the sea inside a weighted bag. However, the little girl’s body was not found, although there are indications found by the experts who have investigated the case that clarify that the little girl would also have been murdered and thrown into the sea inside another weighted bag that had been found open and empty.
