Intimate Partner Homicide

Abstract

When one intimate partner kills another it is considered intimate partner homicide. The majority of intimate partner homicides occur as a result of ongoing interpersonal violence. Females are the victims of intimate partner homicide over four times more often than males. However, victims can be of either gender and intimate partner homicide can occur among same gender couples as well as opposite gender couples. Guns, particularly handguns, are the most typical weapon used in intimate partner homicide. Early intervention in domestic violence cases with better risk of homicide appraisal and realistic safety planning with the victim could proactively save perhaps thousands of lives each year nationwide. Communities through their health care, criminal justice, social services, religious services, and educational systems could proactively raise awareness of this tragic crime and commit resources to training all personnel to assess, apply existing laws, and intervene in violence cases before they become lethal.