Intimate Partner Violence: Lethal Consequences

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Intimate Partner Violence Lethal Consequences

• Dr. Michelle L. Meloy

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IPV overview

• emotional abuse
• physical abuse
• sexual abuse
• stalking
• VOR intimates and ex-intimates
• Risk factors occur at individual, relationship
  community levels
• Individual traits and sociological influences
  believed to explain its occurrence
• It is cyclical in nature and often progresses
  over time
• We know much less about female perpetrated IPV
  but it does occur and it can be lethal

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Inhibitors to (her?) getting out

• Economic Restrictions
• Sociological Restrictions
• Psychological Restrictions Learned Helplessness,
  PTSD, etc
• Process of Victimization
• Criminal Justice Systems Response
• Most dangerous time for a battered women is when
  she actually leaves

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Spousal lethal violence

• Homicide among intimate partners comes in three
  forms
• an abusive husband kills his wife
• an abused wife kills her husband
• an abusive wife kills her husband
• It is the 2nd category that is studied most often
• Lethal couple violence has been on the decline in
  recent years, especially case 2

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Spousal lethal violence

• 30 to 50 of all murdered women are killed by
  their intimates
• Around 5 of all murdered males are killed by
  their intimates
• Many, if not most, women who kill their intimate
  partners were abused by them
• Nearly all men who kill their female partners
  were the ABUSER

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Spousal lethal violence

• By some accounts, females convicted of killing
  their male partners receive an average sentence
  length of 15 to 20 years while males convicted of
  killing their female partners receive an average
  sentence length of 2-6 years
• However, studies on all forms of female
  perpetrated homicide question these sentencing
  patterns

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Husbands who kill

• The 1 motive for spousal homicide is the
  husbands fear of separation loss of control
• Husbands more likely to kill a separated spouse
  than a spouse with whom they live
• Characteristics of husbands who have killed their
  wives vs. abusers who do not kill dependency,
  generalized violence, exposure to domestic
  violence as a child, weapons possession, killing
  or abusing family pets

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Wives who kill

• When women kill their husbands two situations are
  most common
• An abusive wife kills her husband in an escalated
  pattern of violence
• An abused women kills her husband in
  self-defense this is the area that has been most
  frequently studied these women seem to be in the
  most violent of abusive relationships

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Wives who kill

• Most abused wives who kill their abusive husbands
  (about 75 ) do so during in self-defense
• However, about 25 of abused women who kill their
  abusive husbands do so during a non-confrontation
• Lenore Walkers research on these women has lead
  to the creation of the Battered Women Syndrome, a
  psychological condition used as legal defense

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Battered Womens Syndrome suggests...

• Phase I Tension Building/Eggshells
• Phase II Acute Abuse/Battering
• Phase III Make up/Wine Roses
• Over time, the violence will likely increase in
  frequency and intensity

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Walkers Cycle of Violence

• Each battering incident leaves the victim feeling
  more helpless, shame, embarrassment and fear
• Length of the phases changes over time tension
  building becomes longer and loving and apology
  becomes shorter
• Both come to believe it is HER fault

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Dark figure of IPV Victims role

• Severely underreported 10 to 50 of cases
  reported. Why?
• Recognition that the act is abusive illegal
• Internalization of blame social norms
• Belief that that IPV is a private matter
  Victim-offender relationship
• Victims may want an informal resolution
• Wealthier victims have other escape options
• Fear of repercussions by abuser
• Victims may suffer from PTSD

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Dark figure of IPV police role

• call screening protocol of police departments
• police officers do not like responding to IPV
  calls perceived as private matter not as crime
  fighter role
• Officer perceptions of danger
• Organizational disincentives to IPV calls
• Structural barriers to enforcement