Intimate Partner Homicide Victims Research Articles

Bereaved by Intimate Partner Homicide: Consequences and Experiences of Support

The aim of this qualitative study is to present the experiences of family members bereaved by intimate partner homicide (IPH). The focus is on immediate and long-term consequences of the killing, and on the participants’ experiences of subsequently offered information and support. This includes interactions with healthcare, social services, the criminal justice system, and the media. Twenty-two interviews with parents, siblings, and adult children of IPH victims underwent thematical analysis. The bereaved mainly described the social support following the IPH as lacking or inadequate, and recounted that they had been left alone with handling practical and emotionally difficult tasks, such as cleaning up after the killing. More specifically, they felt that institutional responses had been lacking with regard to information, understanding, coordination between professionals, continuity, professionalism, and redress. These results indicate that a coordinated response to people bereaved by IPH is necessary and, if lacking, must be developed.

Fracture variation in survivable versus fatal blunt force trauma associated with intimate partner violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global human rights issue that affects approximately 25% of women and 10% of men and is the leading cause of homicides of women worldwide. Multiple interventional studies have been conducted to screen for IPV; however, fractures associated with intimate partner homicide (IPH) have not been studied from a forensic anthropological perspective. Therefore, this study uses computed tomography scans of IPH victims (n=33) obtained from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator to 1) classify and quantify perimortem craniofacial blunt force fractures, and 2) compare the IPH-related fractures to those associated with non-lethal IPV using previously published studies. The results indicate that IPH cases presented similarly to non-lethal IPV cases in that they were concentrated on the middle and lower face, but fractures were more frequent in the upper face and cranial vault in IPH cases. While IPH cases showed more fractures, they were not necessarily associated with extensive fracturing, as 75.8% of IPH victims had five or fewer fractures—the most common being comminuted and linear fractures, comprising 93.8% of IPH-related fractures. As IPV is significantly underreported, understanding the nuances of fracture patterns associated with IPH can help to aid holistic forensic investigations.

Intimate partner homicide in New Zealand, 2004–2019. Risk markers, demographic patterns, and prevalence

Intimate partner homicide (IPH) is a worldwide scourge and a topic of great interest in New Zealand, but its patterns and prevalence have not been quantified and compared to those in other comparable countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Using a data set of the 187 IPH cases known to have occurred in New Zealand over 16 years, 174 of which involved current or former marriage (including de facto marriage) partners, we present analyses demonstrating the following. As in other comparable countries, a large majority of IPH victims are women, and the wife's youth, spousal age disparity, and de facto marriage are all associated with elevated risk. New Zealand is also unexceptional with respect to gross IPH rates, a very high incidence of recent marital separation as a trigger for male violence, a substantial incidence of offender suicide when the perpetrators are men but not when they are women and an overrepresentation of stepfamilies among the spousal cases. Despite frequent claims that New Zealand is exceptional in the magnitude of its intimate partner violence problem, the true picture is strikingly similar to that in other comparable countries.

Intimate partner homicide: victims and the dynamics of victim – perpetrator relationship

Introduction Intimate partner homicide is considered one of the most extreme forms of interpersonal violence, where one in seven homicides is perpetrated by an actual or former intimate partner. The aim of this study is to analyse the characteristics of the intimate partner homicide (IPH) victims as well as the dynamics of victim - perpetrator relationship. Materials and methods The data used in this study were obtained through the analysis of IPH criminal cases on Portuguese courts, that were finalised and handed down and/or sentenced between 2010 and 2015. The relevant authorizations were obtained from several courts, after the approval of this project by the Ethics Committee of Minho University —Subcommittee on Ethics for Social and Human Sciences (SECSH 060/2016). The criminal cases were consulted in several courts at national level – Lisboa and Vale do Tejo (n = 53), Vila Real (n = 5), Braga (n = 4), Vila do Conde (n = 3), Aveiro (n = 3), Ponta Delgada (n = 3), Póvoa do Varzim (n = 2), Viana do Castelo (n = 1) and Maia (n = 1). Our sample was composed by 75 cases, in which 63 (84%) IPH were perpetrated by men and 12 (16%) by women. From those, 19 were homicides-suicides (25%) and 5 homicides-suicide attempts (7%). Results IPH victims were aged between 30 and 50 years, mostly were professionally active (n = 40; 63%) and from undifferentiated profesisons (n = 43; 74%). Most of them did not present substance abuse (n = 61; 81%) or psychiatric history (n = 60; 80%). Only in 31% (n = 23) there was records danger perception. Regarding the relationship between the IPH perpetrator and the victims, it had an average duration of 13.4 years, with a difference of ages of 6.7 months. There were in total 66 children involved in these cases. The relationships were mostly current (n = 52; 69%) and formal (n = 68; 91%). Of all the analysed cases, although the majority (72%) presented previous history of intimate partner violence (IPV), there was a relevant proportion of cases (28%) without any reported or registered IPV. In 79% (n = 59) of cases, the men were the primary aggressors (five women and one man perpetrated IPH in sequence of an history of previous victimization). In 21% (n = 16) of cases the reported IPV was bidirectional. Regarding the types of IPV, in 91% (n = 68) of the cases registered the presence of previous psychological violence, 61% (n = 46) physical violence, 46% (n = 35) stalking and 44% (n = 33) control behaviours. In 83% (n = 62) there were co-occurrence of different types of violence. In 39% (n = 29) of the cases with IPV records there were only registers of psychological violence and/or stalking and/or control behaviours. Discussion and conclusions These results obtained allowed to conclude that intimate homicide victims don't have a stereotyped profile. Also, these data demonstrate that the victims do not have characteristics that allow them to anticipate their vulnerability. Although most cases of IPH occurred mainly as the culmination of a repeatedly history of prior violence and in situations in which physical violence was a common feature, there is a strong occurrence of psychological violence in IPH. Therefore, the results obtained allow us to identify some essential areas for prevention and intervention. The practical implications of the results are discussed in order to improve the professional practices of the various systems, Integrated in the technical and social systems that must intervene in IPV context.

Characteristics, incidence, and trends of intimate partner homicides in Massachusetts: Patterns by birthplace, race, and ethnicity

This study compared the incidence rates of intimate partner homicide (IPH) in Massachusetts by place of birth and race/ethnicity. The analysis involved 340 IPH victim cases between 1994 and 2014. Victims were just under 40 years of age, on average, and most were female (85%), White (67%), and killed by stabbing (34.4%) or firearms (33%). The incidence of IPH victims ranged from 1.3 to 5.6 cases per million people per year between 1994 and 2014 (M = 2.4 per million). Foreign-born individuals had 1.9-fold higher IPH incidence rates of victims relative to U.S.-born individuals. The incidence of IPH-suicide victims was also significantly higher among foreign-born (M = 1.2 per million) relative to U.S.-born individuals (M = 0.4 per million). Furthermore, minority racial/ethnic groups had significantly high incidence rates of victims, with highest incidence of IPH among Blacks. In the full sample there was a 1.9% decline in the incidence of IPH victims per year, which was not statistically significant. The findings highlight the need for culturally specific prevention and intervention strategies to address risks of IPHs and IPH-suicides among diverse groups, particularly among groups most at-risk in Massachusetts such as foreign-born born individuals and racial and ethnic minorities.

Racial Disparities in Pregnancy-associated Intimate Partner Homicide.

Pregnancy-associated femicide accounts for a mortality burden at least as high as any of the leading specific obstetric causes of maternal mortality, and intimate partners are the most common perpetrators of these homicides. This study examined pregnancy-associated and non-pregnancy-associated intimate partner homicide (IPH) victimization among racial/ethnic minority women relative to their non-minority counterparts using several sources of state-level data from 2003 through 2017. Data regarding partner homicide victimization came from the National Violent Death Reporting System, natality data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, and relevant sociodemographic information was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau. Findings indicated that pregnancy and racial/ethnic minority status were each associated with increased risk for partner homicide victimization. Although rates of non-pregnancy-associated IPH victimization were similar between Black and White women, significant differences emerged when limited to pregnancy-associated IPH such that Black women evidenced pregnancy-associated IPH rates more than threefold higher than that observed among White and Hispanic women. Relatedly, the largest intraracial discrepancies between pregnant and non-pregnant women emerged among Black women, who experienced pregnancy-associated IPH victimization at a rate 8.1 times greater than their non-pregnant peers. These findings indicate that the racial disparities in IPH victimization in the United States observed in prior research might be driven primarily by the pronounced differences among the pregnant subset of these populations.

State Earned Income Tax Credit policies and intimate partner homicide in the USA, 1990-2016.

Economic insecurity is a risk factor for intimate partner homicide (IPH). The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the largest cash transfer programme to low-income working families in the USA. We hypothesised that EITCs could provide financial means for potential IPH victims to exit abusive relationships and establish self-sufficiency. We conducted a national, quasiexperimental study of state EITCs and IPH rates in 1990-2016 using a difference-in-differences approach. The national rate of IPH decreased from 1.9 per 100 000 adult women in 1990 to 1.3 per 100 000 in 2016. We found no statistically significant association between state EITC generosity and IPH rates (coefficient indicating change in IPH rates per 100 000 adult female years for additional 10% in amount of state EITC, measured as the percentage of federal EITC: 0.02, 95% CI -0.03 to 0.08). Financial control associated with abuse and current EITC eligibility rules may prevent potential IPH victims from accessing the EITC.

Intimate Partner Homicides in North Carolina: 2011-2015.

BACKGROUND Research on intimate partner homicide (IPH), when someone is killed by a current or former intimate partner, in North Carolina is limited, making it difficult to understand the magnitude of IPHs and identify strategies for prevention.METHOD We used North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System (NC-VDRS) data to assess IPHs among North Carolina residents between 2011 and 2015. Homicides were considered IPHs if intimate partner violence was identified and the victim was the suspect's current or former intimate partner. Proportions and rates of demographic characteristics and circumstances were assessed.RESULTS Of the 2,299 homicides that occurred between 2011 and 2015, 350 were IPHs (0.9 per 100,000 person-years). Most (72.3%) IPH victims were female (n = 253). Among all female homicides almost half (48.2%) were IPHs, while only 5.4% of all male homicides were IPHs. The highest rate of IPH occurred among women aged 20-44 (2.1 per 100,000 person-years). Most victims were non-Hispanic (NH) white (54.0%, n = 189), although rates for NH American Indians and NH blacks were 1.8 and 2.0 times those among NH whites respectively. Most victims, 86.6% male and 82.6% female, were the suspect's current partner. Firearms were the most common weapon used (62.6%, n = 219).LIMITATIONS NC-VDRS data are not representative of all IPHs in the United States. Circumstance data were sometimes incomplete and categories of circumstance variables restrictive, limiting available information on IPHs.CONCLUSION Future interventions focused on women aged 20-44, NH American Indian and NH Black communities, and firearm access could be effective in preventing IPHs in North Carolina.

Can Justice System Interventions Prevent Intimate Partner Homicide? An Analysis of Rates of Help Seeking Prior to Fatality.

When women are killed, they are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than anyone else, and a substantial number of women who are killed by an intimate were abused by that intimate partner before their death. The proportion of men killed by an intimate partner is much lower and prior research indicates that male intimate partner homicide victims are likely to abuse their partners prior to their deaths. However, limited research has examined the criminal and civil justice help seeking of intimate partner homicide victims. This study examines administrative data from one large urban police jurisdiction to understand rates of help seeking by homicide victims in the 1 to 3 years prior to the homicide. Over 4 years (2010-2014), 197 women and 776 men were killed. The proportion of women killed by an intimate or ex-intimate partner was 39.6%, and the proportion of men killed by an intimate or ex-intimate partner was 3.9%. Police had been in contact with the victim of intimate partner femicides for a domestic violence complaint in 91% of cases in the 3 years prior to the femicide (44.9% resulted in arrest), with an average of 6.2 visits per contacted victim. Among male intimate partner homicide victims, 73.3% had been the complainant on a domestic violence case (38.1% resulted in arrest). Few (<10%) victims sought protection orders before the homicide. Over the 3 years prior to their deaths, 36.7% of male homicide victims and 9.0% of femicide victims had been the suspect in a domestic violence case. Results indicate high rates of engagement of police officers with intimate partner homicide victims before their deaths, and highlight the opportunity for homicide prevention through integration of risk assessment (to identify high-risk cases) and enhanced criminal justice and social service interventions in high-risk cases.

Place, Injury Patterns, and Female-Victim Intimate Partner Homicide.

Research demonstrates place matters in the study of intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner homicide (IPH) with rural women experiencing more severe IPV and a higher risk of IPH. In addition, research points to variations in injury patterns with intimates characterized by more wounds and facial injuries. Little is known whether injury for female IPH victims differs across place; however, research suggests that abuse is a product of a larger social context. Using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, results indicate that some variations exist based on degree of urbanicity of the county in which the IPH occurred.

Can Justice System Interventions Prevent Intimate Partner Homicide? An Analysis of Rates of Helpseeking Prior to Fatality

When women are killed, they are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than anyone else, and a substantial proportion of women who are killed by an intimate were abused by that intimate partner before their death. The proportion of men killed by an intimate partner is much lower and prior research indicates that male homicide victims are likely to abuse their intimate partners prior to their deaths. Yet, limited research has examined the criminal and civil justice help-seeking of intimate partner homicide victims. This study examines administrative data from one large urban police jurisdiction to understand rates of help-seeking by homicide victims in the 1-3 years prior to the homicide. Across all intimate partner femicide victims, in the three years prior to the homicide, police had been in contact with the victim for a domestic violence complaint in 91% of cases (44.9% resulted in arrest), with an average of 6.2 visits per contacted victim. Among male intimate partner homicide victims, 73.3% had been the complainant on a domestic violence case (38.1% resulted in arrest). Fewer than 5% of victims sought protection orders before the homicide. The findings of this paper outline the high rate of engagement of police officers with intimate partner homicide victims before their deaths, and highlight the opportunity for homicide prevention through integration of risk assessment (to identify high risk cases) and social service interventions.

Double jeopardy: Predictors of elevated lethality risk among intimate partner violence victims seen in emergency departments

Many intimate partner homicide victims visit emergency departments (EDs) prior to their deaths, yet their lethality risk is not well understood. eHealth interventions for intimate partner violence (IPV) improve provider information, tailor care to victim need and link victims to services. We analyzed ED patients' lethality risk using one such intervention, Domestic Violence Report and Referral (DVRR). DVRR records were assessed for 263 female patients aged 16 and older seen for IPV at an urban, high-traffic, Northern California ED in 2014-15. Multiple linear regression was used to test the association of children's presence at home, pregnancy, age, and abuser-victim relationship with victim's lethality risk using the Danger Assessment (DA) score from the Lethality Risk Assessment for Intimate Partner Femicide. Differences in means were assessed using t- and F-tests. The mean DA score indicated high lethality risk, with a third of respondents (33.1%) reporting very high DA scores. Multiple linear regression models indicated that increasing victim age (β=0.20/year; 95% CI: 0.11-0.29), children's presence at home (β=2.61, 95% CI: 0.63-4.58), and perpetrator reported as dating partner (β=4.50, 95% CI: 1.62-7.38) or ex-partner (β=4.38, 95% CI: 1.10-7.66) were significantly associated with the DA score (p<0.05). Use of DA scores as ED risk assessment tools in response to IPV victimization could help hospital staff and IPV advocates direct resources toward highest-need patients, improving health outcomes without additional burden on hospitals. These results also foreground eHealth interventions' utility in linking providers and IPV advocates and reducing the risk of intimate partner homicide.

No Way Out: Severely Abused Latina Women, Patriarchal Terrorism, and Self-Help Homicide

This article explores the diminished occurrence of intimate partner homicide (IPH)—referred to as self-help homicide—perpetrated by Latinas when compared with Black and White women. Self-help homicide is a consequence of patriarchal terrorism. I endeavor to answer the following research question: What explains lower rates of self-help homicide perpetrated by Latinas relative to White and Black women? This question is addressed through a self-help/intersectional theoretical analysis of structural, institutional, and cultural barriers to criminal justice resource access. This diminished access increases the likelihood of IPH victimization.

Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 17 States, 2013.

In 2013, more than 57,000 persons died in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 17 U.S. states for 2013. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics. 2013. NVDRS collects data from participating states regarding violent deaths obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplemental homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). This report includes data from 17 states that collected statewide data for 2013 (Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin). NVDRS collates documents for each death and links deaths that are related (e.g., multiple homicides, a homicide followed by a suicide, or multiple suicides) from a single incident. For 2013, a total of 18,765 fatal incidents involving 19,251 deaths were captured by NVDRS in the 17 states included in this report. The majority (66.2%) of deaths were suicides, followed by homicides (23.2%), deaths of undetermined intent (8.8%), deaths involving legal intervention (1.2%) (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions), and unintentional firearm deaths (<1%). (The term legal intervention is a classification incorporated into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision [ICD-10] and does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding a death caused by law enforcement.) Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, non-Hispanic whites, American Indian/Alaska Natives, persons aged 45-64 years, and males aged ≥75 years. Suicides were preceded primarily by a mental health, intimate partner, or physical health problem or a crisis during the previous or upcoming 2 weeks. Homicide rates were higher among males and persons aged 15-44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. Homicides primarily were precipitated by arguments and interpersonal conflicts, occurrence in conjunction with another crime, or were related to intimate partner violence (particularly for females). A known relationship between a homicide victim and a suspected perpetrator was most likely either that of an acquaintance or friend or an intimate partner. Legal intervention death rates were highest among males and persons aged 20-24 years and 30-34 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. Precipitating factors for the majority of legal intervention deaths were another crime, a mental health problem, or a recent crisis. Deaths of undetermined intent occurred at the highest rates among males and persons aged <1 year and 45-54 years. Substance abuse and mental or physical health problems were the most common circumstances preceding deaths of undetermined intent. Unintentional firearm death rates were higher among males, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged persons aged 15-19 and 55-64 years; these deaths were most often precipitated by a person unintentionally pulling the trigger while playing with a firearm or while hunting. This report provides a detailed summary of data from NVDRS for 2013. The results indicate that violent deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence disproportionately affected persons aged <65 years, males, and certain minority populations. For homicides and suicides, intimate partner problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental health problems, and recent crises were primary precipitating factors. NVDRS data are used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths. For example, Utah Violent Death Reporting System (VDRS) data were used to develop policies that support children of intimate partner homicide victims, Colorado VDRS data to develop a web-based suicide prevention program targeting middle-aged men, and Rhode Island VDRS data to help guide suicide prevention efforts at workplaces. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS to include all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia are essential to public health efforts to reduce the impact of violence.

Reducing intimate partner homicides: The effects of federally-funded shelter service availability in California

Over twenty-five years of policy and scholarly attention to the problem of intimate partner violence appears to have generated greater victim safety. Intimate partner homicides, the most serious form of violence between intimates, have been declining for nearly three decades in many contexts, but not all. This study built on a small number of studies that had advanced knowledge about the policy-relevant factors behind the intimate partner homicide decline. The analysis described here utilized a set of county-level data from California from 1987 to 2000 to estimate the effects of shelter-based service availability on race/ethnicity-specific female intimate partner homicide victimization. The study relied on a new measure of service availability in an attempt to overcome limitations with previously used indicators. This analysis did not reveal an effect of shelter-based service availability and criminal justice system responses on changes in female intimate partner homicide victimizations. Reasons for these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The spousal SROK revisited: A comparison of Chicago and Houston intimate partner homicide ratios

Based on the work of Wilson and Daly (1992) and Gauthier and Bankston (1997), the major objective of the present study was to determine how the spousal sex ratios of killing (SROKs)—the number of female perpetrators for every 100 male perpetrators—compare between two geographically disparate, major U.S. cities—Chicago and Houston. The results of the analysis reported add to our general understanding of the problem of intimate partner violence, in that the relative proportions of females and males killing intimate partners were similar along at least three important dimensions. The SROKs in both cities were only high for the killing of spouses and children; we did not observe a convergence of SROKs in the killing of other blood relatives, nor acquaintances or strangers. Our analysis also strongly indicates that men’s relative risk of intimate partner homicide victimization in both cities decreases dramatically when the two parties are estranged in some way. Another major finding is that large SROKs observed in the present analysis of Chicago and Houston are primarily a Black phenomenon. The lowest SROKs were found for Hispanics, followed by non-Hispanic Whites. The article concludes with suggestions for further research in this area.

The Chicago Women's Health Risk Study

To help a broad array of practitioners identify women at greatest risk, the Chicago Women's Health Risk Study explored factors indicating significant danger of death or life-threatening injury in intimate violence situations. The study compared longitudinal interviews with physically abused women sampled at health centers with similar interviews of people who knew intimate partner homicide victims. The many agencies and individuals who collaborated to accomplish this complex project feel that the collaboration was successful because it evolved, developed a collaborative culture, had permeable role definitions, and agreed on a few central research and practice standards.