"These Questions Have Everything That Happens to me": Analysis of a Femicide Risk Assessment Tool for Abused Women in Brazil

Dabney P Evans,Casey D Xavier Hall,Raiza Wallace Guimarães Da Rocha,Sandra Marques Prado,Marcos C Signorelli

doi:10.1007/s10896-021-00313-1

Dabney P Evans, Casey D Xavier Hall + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00313-1

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Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this mixed-methods triangulation study was to assess the face validity and comprehension of a femicide risk assessment tool, the Danger Assessment-Brazil (DA-Brazil) among women seeking care in a one stop center for abused women in Curitiba, Brazil. Our secondary aim was to assess professionals' perceptions of feasibility for using the DA-Brazil in the same setting.MethodFifty-five women experiencing relationship violence completed the instrument and participated in cognitive interviews about their experience; professionals attending survivors were also interviewed.ResultsThe vast majority of women described the DA-Brazil instrument as being easy to comprehend (n = 41, 73.2%). Nearly half of participants (n = 26, 46.4%) had some kind of question regarding the DA-Brazil calendar, a tool to visualize abuse frequency and severity. Queries aligned with five categories: recollection of dates, scale, relationship status, terminology, and discomfort. Professionals reported that the DA-Brazil instrument would support referral decision-making.ConclusionThe overall face validity and comprehension of the DA-Brazil appears to be high. The majority of challenges were around the calendar activity. Professional perceptions of the DA-Brazil suggest a high degree of feasibility for its use in Brazilian healthcare settings. In order for the DA-Brazil to effectively be administered with facilitated support there is a need for training on the best use of the instrument. Accurate assessment of femicide risk is critical in a country like Brazil with high rates of femicide. The DA-Brazil provides a valid assessment of femicide risk and has the potential to trigger early intervention for those at risk.

Highlights

The homicide of a woman by her current or former intimate partner is an extreme form of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
This study provides an analysis of triangulated data to examine face validity, comprehension, and feasibility for the use of the DA-Brazil, a culturally adapted translation of the Danger Assessment femicide risk assessment
Because the risk factors for femicide are viewed as universal — and the original Danger Assessment is grounded in these risk factors —we believe that the tool is sufficiently ready for use in the Brazilian context. This analysis was focused on face validity and comprehension of the DA-Brazil instrument among Brazilian women experiencing IPV

Summary

Introduction

The homicide of a woman by her current or former intimate partner is an extreme form of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). In Brazil, four women are killed each day in this way. The country ranks 6th in the world for femicide (Waiselfisz, 2015). Brazil’s rate of 4.8 female homicides per 100,000 women (Waiselfisz, 2015) is 2.5 times higher than the global average (Racovita, 2015), posing a significant public health problem as a result of mortality due to femicide. Brazil has responded to IPV and femicide through the passage of major federal laws, such as the Maria da Penha Law (Law No 11.340/2006) (Brasil, 2006). In 2015 the country enacted an anti-femicide statute (Law No 13.104) (Brasil, 2015) demonstrating the political will to prevent femicide at the national level (Gattegno et al, 2016)

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