Challenges in Defining Domestic Homicide: Considerations for Research and Practice

Abstract

What is domestic homicide? How we answer this question has important implications for research and practice. Research, advocacy, and policy work use various definitions to describe overlapping phenomena, such as domestic homicide, domestic violence deaths, intimate partner homicide, intimate partner femicide, uxoricide, homicide-suicide, and spousal homicide. In this chapter, we explore definitions of domestic homicide and consider the implications of defining domestic homicide in research and practice. How domestic homicides are defined matters because this process sets up boundaries for our area of study and, therefore, shapes what we know about domestic homicides, their nature, and the potential for prevention. As researchers and practitioners, we may feel that we know domestic homicide cases when we see them, but it is important to purposefully consider the criteria used to define domestic homicide and to evaluate the potential impacts of these definitions on domestic violence prevention efforts.