This article discusses ways to assist women in assessing risk related to intimate partner violence cases.
Implications are drawn in this work as to innovative ways that women who are abused can be identified and, with skilled assessment of the danger in their relationship, helped in making more informed plans for their safety. The article notes that only approximately one-half of the 456 women who were killed or almost killed by a husband, boyfriend, or ex-husband or ex-boyfriend in a recent national study of homicide of women accurately perceived their risk of being killed by their abusive partner. Additionally, women were unlikely to overestimate their risk; however, many would underestimate the severity of the situation. From the same study, it was found that relatively few of the victims of actual or attempted intimate partner homicide were seen by domestic violence advocates during the year before they were killed; they were far more likely to be seen in the health care system. The descriptive data presented in this article are from a national 12 city study of risk factors for homicide in violent intimate relationships. Figure and references