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Service Contacts Proximate to Intimate Partner Homicides in Victoria

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Abstract

This study examined the frequency, nature and proximity of service contacts among victims and perpetrators of intimate partner homicide in Victoria, Australia. A retrospective review was conducted of coroner’s records of 120 intimate partner homicides for the period 2000–2008. In 91 (75.8 %) of the cases, one or both parties had contact with a service in the 12 months preceding the homicide. The justice system was the most frequent point of contact among both parties, and the healthcare system was often the first and preferred point of contact for victims and perpetrators when seeking assistance individually. Overall, perpetrators were more likely to have contact with a service than victims, and the majority of all service contacts occurred within 1 month of the homicide. This paper outlines the prevention opportunities that exist within the service system and highlights the importance of interventions and treatments directed at perpetrators of family violence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University, 65 Kavanagh Street DX: 210321, Southbank, VIC, 3006, Australia

    Briony Murphy

  2. School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia

    Marg Liddell

  3. Coroners Prevention Unit, Coroners Court of Victoria, 65 Kavanagh Street, Southbank, VIC, 3006, Australia

    Lyndal Bugeja

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  1. Briony Murphy
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  2. Marg Liddell
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  3. Lyndal Bugeja
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Correspondence to Briony Murphy.

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Murphy, B., Liddell, M. & Bugeja, L. Service Contacts Proximate to Intimate Partner Homicides in Victoria. J Fam Viol 31, 39–48 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9738-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9738-2

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