Domestic violence is a pattern of verbal, physical, emotional, economic, psychological and/or sexual abuse in any type of relationship — familial or intimate — where one person tries to gain and maintain power and control over the other person. Intimate partner violence is one type of domestic violence that involves people in a romantic relationship.
This issue is widespread in the United States. One in four women and one in seven men will experience severe physical violence at the hands of their intimate partner in their lifetime. Over 50% of all homicides of U.S. women ages 44 and below are related to intimate partner violence.
Journalists have a responsibility to accurately cover domestic violence. Strong coverage can improve public understanding of what domestic violence is, how to recognize it and even help a victim realize they’re being abused and get connected to resources.
Survivors often point out how victim blaming, stigma and misinformation can make it harder for someone to leave an abusive relationship and for their loved ones to recognize the signs of one. Journalists must avoid amplifying that stigma and instead highlight the realities of abuse.
Domestic violence involving a firearm
Guns and domestic violence are a deadly combination. Nearly half of all women murdered in the country are killed by a former or current intimate partner and over half of those were firearm homicides. And if their abuser has a gun, a woman is five times more likely to be murdered by them.
Homicides in the U.S. are driven by domestic violence — more than one in four homicides are related to it, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. The presence of a gun is not only dangerous for the victim, but it increases the risk of multiple victims and fatalities. Intimate partner homicides often have multiple victims, including family, children, new dating partners of the victim, friends, coworkers, strangers and police officers. The perpetrator sometimes dies by suicide after killing their victims.
The majority of mass shootings involve an act of domestic violence or a perpetrator with a history of domestic abuse, according to a study by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. Mass shootings related to domestic violence also have a higher fatality rate, the report found. Only one in six people survive a domestic violence-related mass shooting compared to one in three for non-domestic violence mass shootings.
A mass murder is when four or more people are killed, according to the FBI. The typical mass murder in the U.S. involves a gun, victims who are usually family members or intimate partners, and a history of relationship conflict, according to the Battered Women’s Justice Project.
Anyone can be a victim
Domestic violence is a global problem, but domestic violence involving a firearm disproportionately impacts American women. Nearly 92% of all women killed by guns in high-income countries were American women, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. American women are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed than women in other high-income countries.
While women from all backgrounds and demographics can be victims of domestic violence, women of color are at a higher risk in the U.S. Black and Native American women experience the highest rates of intimate partner homicides, according to the CDC, and Black women are more likely to be killed by firearms than any other racial or ethnic group.
Firearms can play a major role in domestic abuse, even if the trigger is never pulled. Abusers often use guns to intimidate, threaten, coerce and control victims.
Women who were threatened or assaulted with a gun were 20 times more likely to be murdered than women who weren’t threatened, according to an analysis of the Danger Assessment. Women threatened with murder by an intimate partner were also 15 times more likely to be killed than other women, the analysis found. Guns pose a threat in any household. But abused women in a house with a gun are six times more likely to be killed.
Effective solutions
Policies that prevent domestic abusers from accessing guns are associated with reductions in intimate partner homicide, studies show. Such policies have been shown to reduce intimate partner homicides by as much as 25%. A common policy is a domestic violence protective order, which is issued by a court to protect victims of abuse. When those laws prohibit firearm purchase and possession and require the respondent of the order (including ex-parte orders) to surrender their weapons, there are significant reductions in intimate partner homicides involving a firearm.
In some places, the boyfriend loophole means that protective orders can only apply to spouses and not dating partners. When they cover all kinds of intimate partners, there is a 13% reduction in intimate partner homicides, according to Johns Hopkins. When these orders require firearms to be removed and restricted, homicides are reduced by 12%.
Other solutions to prevent domestic violence homicides also involve robust prevention and intervention programs that help victims successfully leave and never return to abusive relationships. Such programs include: safety planning, crisis intervention, connection to services (counseling, housing, medical and legal advocacy), access to other community resources and first responders conducting intimate partner violence lethality risk assessments.
Story ideas
Depending on how domestic violence has been covered in your area or your own familiarity with it, here are some coverage ideas:
- Start by exploring the current realities of domestic violence in your coverage area. How many incidents occur in a year? How about homicides? Have there been increases, decreases in these figures? What resources are available, such as shelters, legal aid, job help, housing programs? Find survivors who are willing to tell their stories (I wrote a version of this story for Springfield, Mo. ).
- Explore the combination of guns and domestic violence. How many reported assaults and homicides involve a gun? How are guns used by abusers to control and manipulate their victims? How does the legal system handle removing guns in cases involving protection and ex-parte orders? Even if a city or state requires temporarily taking away a respondent’s guns, there are often cases when the gun is never taken away. Here’s an example from the Texas Observer.
- During the COVID-19 lockdown, rates of domestic violence spiked. What happened in your area? Have the rates lowered, or have they remained elevated? This UC Davis study shows how domestic violence involving firearms spiked during the pandemic.
- Who are the collateral victims from domestic violence? Earlier this year, The Trace explored how deadly the combination of domestic violence and guns is for children.
- Keep an eye on what policies your city and/or state have or are considering for preventing domestic violence. Public officials championing such initiatives are good sources, too.
Resources
- The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence has a reporting guide, as does the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
- Victim advocacy organizations and domestic violence shelters. In most cities and states, there are victim advocacy groups for victims of intimate partner violence. These organizations are often great resources for understanding what victims face and what resources are available. Shelters are also good sources and will often remain in touch with survivors.
- The Violence Policy Center releases an annual report called When Men Murder Women that analyzes violent crime data by state.
- Various gun violence prevention organizations provide information on intimate partner violence and guns:
- Gun Violence Archive has extensive data on gun violence incidents. Their data can be filtered to show domestic violence incidents.
- CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) is another good data source.
Experts to call
- Susan Sorenson, the director of the Ortner Center on Violence & Abuse at the University of Pennsylvania, sorenson@upenn.edu.
- Bethany Backes, assistant professor in the Violence Against Women Faculty Cluster Initiative at the University of Central Florida, Bethany.Backes@ucf.edu.
- National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Lynn Brewer (press contact), lbrewer@thehotline.org.
- National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, communications@nrcdv.org.
