When Intimate Partner Violence Becomes Lethal: Contextualizing the Likelihood of Gun Use During IPV Incidents

• In Event: Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Homicide

Abstract

Serious and lethal intimate partner violence (IPV) is a vexing social problem. Research repeatedly suggests that having access to firearms significantly increases the likelihood of death in IPV situations. Approximately 40% of survivors of IPV reporting that their abusive partner possessed a gun, and 2/3 of these same respondents reported that the gun had been used to scare, intimidate, or physically harm them (Garcia, Soria, & Hurwitz 2007; Sorenson & Wiebe 2004). Using data from the Orange County Domestic Violence Death Review Team and the Anaheim Police Department, our paper compares data from cases that escalated from IPV to homicide because of a gun to those that resulted in serious assaults and a subsequent felony arrest of the perpetrator. We present findings that complicate prior literature about the presence and use of guns in IPV situations that turn lethal. By doing so, this research can be used by multiple academic, policy-oriented, and community-based actors to potentially prevent intimate partner homicides.

Authors

• Amy M. Magnus, University of California, Irvine

• Kasey Ragan, University of California, Irvine

• Veronica Valencia Gonzalez, University of California, Irvine