Assessment and management of the risk factors of domestic violence

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a brief overview of the results of the analysis of domestic violence reported to the police in Croatia and the Sisak-Moslavina County for the period 2018-2022, with emphasis on the socio-demographic characteristics of perpetrators and victims, and with special reference to the analysis of the most common risk factors for the repetition of these punishable acts in the urban and rural areas of the Sisak-Moslavina Police Directorate for one year, i.e. six months before and six months after the mandatory application of the Family violence risk assessment tool for repeated violence (from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023). Research findings show that psychological violence prevails, and to a slightly lesser extent, physical violence is represented. A significant criminogenic factor is the excessive use of alcohol. Violence is increasingly directed towards children, the elderly and people with disability. The risk factors analysis for repeated domestic violence indicates that the risk indicators in the observed cases are not established or are marked as unknown in the majority of cases. If they are established, they refer exclusively to the risk of repeating physical violence mostly in the urban area. Adequate attention should be given to the fact that risks for sexual abuse are almost completely absent or found to be non-existent.