NCJ Number
195588
Date Published
January 2002
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This document is the annual report of domestic violence death statistics for the State of Iowa.
Abstract
The document is the Annual Report of the Iowa Domestic Abuse Death Review Team. The team collected and reviewed data concerning domestic abuse homicides and also domestic abuse related suicides. Data for this report were taken from identified domestic abuse deaths which occurred between 1997 and 2001. The report is designed to advise the State officials of the causes and manner of domestic abuse deaths, factual data available from the death certificates and other documents pertaining to each domestic abuse death, contributing factors to domestic abuse deaths, and recommendations for prevention and community action programs to combat the problem. Additionally, the report provides information concerning the development of a standard protocol for the investigations of domestic abuse related deaths. Based on the data, the team found that the majority of victims were women, the majority of perpetrators in a domestic abuse homicide were men, and one-third of the deaths occurred 1 month post-separation from the abusive partner. Firearms were the most common cause of death, having been used in 65 percent of all cases. Other identified risk factors included an argument between the couple, prior homicidal or suicidal threats from the perpetrator, drug or alcohol use by the perpetrator and the discovery by the perpetrator that the victim had another boyfriend. 19 Tables