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Partner Homicide in Context: A Population-Based Perspective

NCJ Number
173589
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 2 Issue: issue Dated: November 1998 Pages: 400-421
Author(s)
P H Smith; K E Moracco; J D Butts
Date Published
1998
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study develops profiles of all partner homicides that occurred in North Carolina in 1994.
Abstract
The study used a combination of medical examiner data and police interviews, permitting the investigation of gender differences that might shape the context for male and female homicide perpetration and victimization. Five themes emerged: (1) The context for partner homicides is often chronic women battering; (2) Leaving and remaining with an abusive partner are both dangerous options; (3) Protective measures for battered women are inadequate; (4) Domestic violence is not necessarily private violence; and (5) Alcohol and firearms often accompany homicide. These themes suggested that partner homicides emanated almost uniformly from a history of male-perpetrated aggression; analysis of partner homicide should not be detached from the daily life created and sustained by battering; and a gender analysis of partner homicide focuses on the context of gender-based power imbalances rather than on frequency or severity of injury. Tables, references

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