Author(s)

Marika Guggisberg

The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia..

Interest in risk assessment in contemporary discussions of criminal justice issues including the treatment of intimate partner violence is ongoing as scholarship has identified lack of empirical knowledge in this area. The purpose of this paper is to add to current knowledge by reporting on Australian research findings on a number of risk factors associated with fear of homicide in intimate partnerships. Quantitative research methods were used to analyse demographic data on 227 Western Australian women, residing in metropolitan Perth, who had been exposed to potentially lethal forms of male-perpetrated intimate partner violence in the six months prior to participating in the study. Results suggested that certain victim characteristics such as the experience of sexual violence, minority status, being separated, and having a prior history of victimisation appear to be important risk indicators for intimate partner homicide.

Aboriginal; Fear; Homicide; Intimate; Partner; Minority; Risk Factors; Sexual; Violence; Women

M. Guggisberg, "An Investigation into Potentially Lethal Acts of Male-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence," Beijing Law Review, Vol. 3 No. 4, 2012, pp. 198-205. doi: 10.4236/blr.2012.34025.