Differentiating Between Intimate Partner Violence and Stranger Violence Risk Among Women Through an Examination of Residential Change

Abstract

The construct of residential change is instrumental in various criminological theories to predict crime in general and violence specifically. When looking at intimate partner violence in particular, residential change can play a unique role as a marker of forced isolation by an offender or attempted escape by a victim. Currently, the distinct role of residential change on the risk of differing violence types is only conceptual as violence research tends to either overlook issues of gender and implications of the victim— offender relationship or examine one type of violence independent of the others. This study, a parallel empirical examination of the impact of residential change on a woman's risk of intimate partner violence and risk of stranger violence, illustrates that compared to nonmovers, women who recently move are at an increased risk of intimate partner violence that is not analogous for stranger violence.