![[Navigation Map2]](images/inti.gif)
Intimate Partner Violence Report
and Forum
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that
"everyone has the right to life, liberty, and
security of person," and that "no one shall be subjected to torture,
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment."
"If we accept the declaration, then we must see intimate partner violence as a human rights issue," says Nancy Isaac, a researcher with the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. "And, as with many transgressions against human rights, there are profound effects on public health."
Bonnie Campbell, director of the US Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Office, will be the featured speaker at a forum on February 10 to release the report Homicides Related to Intimate Partner Violence in Massachusetts, 1991-1995
Intimate partner violence is the threat or use of physical force
to harm or cause fear of harm in an intimate partner such as a
spouse, ex-spouse, current or past boy- or girlfriend, or current or past
same-sex partner. Death is the worst outcome of this violence--a
result that occurs with disturbing frequency. In Massachusetts,
during the years 1991 through 1995, 194 people were killed in incidents
related to intimate partner violence.
This dramatic statistic is included in a report that will be released on February 10. In addition to counting the number of deaths, the publication, Homicides Related to Intimate Partner Violence in Massachusetts, 1991-1995, also characterizes the events. A few of the facts contained in the report:
"This is the first time a report has enumerated all of the people who are killed in the context of intimate partner violence," says Isaac. "Most studies have focused on one or another group of victims."
By using multiple data sources, the authors were able to identify victims of intimate partner violence who were not intimate partners. These included partners' family members and friends, two divorce attorneys, and a stranger who intervened to try to protect a woman.
"Unfortunately, most of these instances in which someone other than the partner is killed aren't identifiable in national data sets as homicides related to intimate partner violence," says Isaac. The FBI compiles national homicide information through Supplementary Homicide Reports, a database that is used by researchers and policy-
makers throughout the country. The accuracy of the database is therefore critical to the validity of the research and to the value of the policies that are made based upon that research.
The report advances several recommendations, including the improvement of data collection for deaths related to intimate partner violence, the formation of a system of domestic violence death reviews, and the creation of a public education campaign about the risks that intimate partner violence poses to partners and others.
Copies of the report will be available at a forum on
February 10, 4:00 p.m., in Snyder Auditorium. Bonnie Campbell, director
of the Violence Against Women Office of the US Department of
Justice, will be the featured speaker. She will be joined by the report's
authors: Linda Langford, SD '98, director of evaluation and
assessment, Education Development Center; Nancy Isaac; and Stacey
Kabat, founder and cochair of the human rights group Peace at Home, Inc.
