The Intimate Partner Homicide Decline: Disaggregated Trends, Theoretical Explanations, and Policy Implications

Abstract

The United States has witnessed a steady decline in intimate partner homicides over the past 20 years, however this decline appears less dramatic when rates of victimization are disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, and marital status. This article disaggregates trends in intimate partner homicide as a way of offering a detailed measure of victim safety and as a more precise method for developing theoretical explanations for the phenomenon. It also presents an analysis of existing research on policyrelevant factors that have been hypothesized to facilitate victim safety. This analysis underscores the policy implications of findings that suggest varying levels intervention may be necessary across classes of victims.