Jumping the Gun? Criminal Justice and Victim Service Professionals’ Evaluations of Risk for Intimate Partner Homicide

• In Event: Unique Perspectives on Fear of Crime and Perceived Risk

Abstract

Risk factors for intimate partner homicide are well-known and include factors such as separation from an abuser, access to a firearm, stalking, and prior intimate partner violence (IPV). However, little is known regarding how professionals working to protect IPV victims view the lethality of such risk-factors and the efficacy of behaviors victims take to protect themselves. In the present study, victim service (e.g., victim advocates) and criminal justice (e.g., police) professionals from urban and rural communities (N = 133) evaluated the risk of a range of factors for intimate partner homicide and the helpfulness of various victim help-seeking procedures. Results revealed that victim service professionals and urban professionals generally recognized risk factors for intimate partner homicide as more dangerous for victims than criminal justice and rural professionals. Rural professionals viewed victim help-seeking behaviors related to acquiring firearms as significantly more helpful to IPV victims than urban professionals. Finally, threat with a firearm but not access to a firearm was significantly associated with professionals’ assessments that IPV victims are at an increased risk to experience fatal violence. The results have implications for increasing the efficacy of formal and informal responses to potentially lethal IPV situations.

Author

• Kellie Rose Lynch, University of Texas at San Antonio