Intimate partner stalking and femicide: urgent implications for women's safety.
This study describes the type and extent of intimate partner stalking and threatening behaviors that occurred within 12 months prior to a major assault or attempted or actual partner femicide and specifies which behaviors were associated with an increased risk of potential or actual lethality. The design was a ten-city case-control study of 821 women: 384 abuse victims and 437 attempted or actual femicide informants. Data were derived using a 16-item inventory. Logistic regressions, with adjustments for demographic variables, were used to identify the significant perpetrator behaviors associated with attempted/actual femicide. Women who reported the perpetrator followed or spied on them were more than twice as likely t o become attempted/actual femicide victims. Threats by the perpetrator to harm the children if the woman left or did not return to the relationship place the woman at a ninefold increase in the risk of attempted/actual femicide. Conclusions are that certain stalking and threatening behaviors are strong risk factors for lethality, and women must be so advised.
McFarlane
Judith
J
College of Nursing, Texas Woman's University, Houston 77030, USA. JMCFARLANE@TWU.EDU
Campbell
Jacquelyn C
JC
Watson
Kathy
K
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States