Risk Factors for Domestic Homicide

Never underplay the seriousness of these combined factors

Here and now, unfortunately, ends my journey on Pixabay from Pixabay.jpg

*If you or someone you know is at risk of harm, please reach out to your local abuse hotline. You can reach out anonymously and get connected to resources and a professional team that can help with safety planning.

For the last 5 years consecutively, the rates of Domestic Partner Violence have increased.

Social stressors most certainly play a role in this, and women are the ones who are taking the brunt of this, as they represent 80% of all domestic violence cases.

Although all domestic violence cases are serious and require very complex strategies to escape safely, there are some professional indicators that we need an interagency approach to resolution.

When the following factors are present in a domestic situation, there is a very real risk of serious harm or death. Professional teams come together for efficient and thorough intervention to protect the victim. These teams include representatives from the local police force, social workers, community victim service workers and transition houses.

There are an average of 70 domestic homicide deaths per year in Canada and 4 per day in the USA

With intervention, most of these deaths could be prevented, but one of the biggest barriers to asking for help, is that people don’t know HOW to help. Involving authorities is one of the biggest fears of victims because they know all to well, that reaching out will only escalate the incidents and severity of violence.

As a victim service worker, we understand the complexities of asking for professional help. If there is a child at risk of harm, all confidentiality rules are obsolete by law. If children are at risk, of course we highly recommend involving the authorities, but this should NOT be a barrier to asking for help. Help can be accessed from your local community victim service workers or outreach teams, confidentially.

You can withhold your name, or call on behalf of a friend without offering personal details, and get access to resources that can help…