Domestic Homicide Or Intimate Partner?

Domestic violence is a violent act towards a person who is or has previously been an intimate partner. It is more common for males to carry out violent acts against their female spouse and while far less common females have also committed violent acts against their partners as well as issues with same sex partners (Davis 2008). Consequently, this behaviour can often lead to domestic homicide.

Homicide in general is a very male dominant area of crime as females make up a very small fraction of offenders while a large majority are male (Brookman 2005). Women are more likely to be killed by an intimate male partner than by a stranger (Ximena & Stuart 1999). Domestic homicide or intimate partner homicide is a fatal attack perpetrated by an intimate partner (Norman & Bradshaw 2013). These types of homicides account for the highest per cent of all homicides. In the years 2010-12 intimate partner homicides accounted for 58 per cent of all homicides in Australia (AIC 2016). The acts of hitting, pushing and shoving ones spouse is now quite a common occurrence and has become known as common couple violence by some (Ximena & Stuart 1999). Following the increasing number of violent domestic disputes the Queensland Government introduced the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 that enables victims to seek protection orders not only for themselves but also for their children.

In each violent intimate relationship the nature of the violence may be limited or the victim may experience various types of violence (Davis 2008). As there are many differing opinions as to what is actually considered to be violent it can be difficult to describe (Ximena & Stuart 1999). According to the Australian Institute of Criminology (2016) there ar...

... middle of paper ...

...ser feels lose of control. There can be fatal repercussions after separation as those who leave are more likely to be victims of homicide than those who are not separated, made even more likely if the victim began seeing another partner (Sheehan et. al 2015).

The continual efforts into providing support services and communal assistance have created crucial positive progression in the way it is dealt with, particularly regarding women. Understanding the circumstances how and why these fatal attacks occur has been the main concern of the governing bodies and communities, in order to help victims and deter further intimate violence. Although there has been extensive research in the field of domestic violence and consequently homicide, there is still great difficulty in assessing the different elements involved and therefore a great need to improve current information.