1. Fatality Review and Women’s Use of Violence What we know and what we don’t know Kathleen J. Ferraro

2. What we know Men kill & are killed more often than women Men kill intimate partners more often than women About 80% of IPH victims are women African Americans and American Indians are disproportionately represented About 30% of IPH involve suicide, most often male Most female IPH victims have a history of IPV by the male perpetrator

3. Murder in the U.S.: number of victims by race/ethnicity and gender 2013 Number of murder victims in the United States in 2013, by race/ethnicity and gender Source: FBI; ID 251877ID 251877 Note: United States; 2013 Notes Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 8.page 8

4. IPH makes up a small proportion of all male homicide victims

7. When women kill they are more likely to kill a family member.

8. Source: Websdale, Understanding Domestic Homicide, p. 65 Female victims of IPH Victim’s relationship to perpetrator Male perpetrator Female perpetrator Totals Intimate partner 670 Family member 9211 Love triangle000 Police shooting 000 Friend/bystan der 000 TOTAL76278

9. Victim’s relationship to perpetrator Male perpetrator Female perpetrator TOTAL Intimate partner 22426 Family member 19120 Love triangle antagonist 909 Police shooting 202 Friend/bystan der 101 TOTAL male victims 332558 Male victims of IPH

10. Victims of multiple homicides VictimsMale perpetrators (sex of victims) Female perpetrators (sex of victims) Totals Intimate partners 37 (35 F, 2 gay M) 2 (both male)39 Family members 19 (10 F, 9 M)5 (3 F, 2 M)24 Love triangle6 (M)06 Suicide39 (M)5 (F)44 Friends/Bysta nders 3 (2 F, 1 M)1 (F)4 TOTAL104 (47 F, 57 M) 13 (9 F, 4 M)117

11. Contexts of women’s use of violence Immediate self defense Proactive self defense Third party murder Aggressive Retaliatory Serious mental illness/psychosis

12. Nature of women’s IPV Equal perpetrators of situational couple violence Less coercive control, less injury & fear in abused partner Most women who perpetrate IPV are also victims of IPV Small proportion of women are primary aggressors

13. What we know about women’s experience of IPV: Women’s perceptions are altered by the experience of physical, sexual and psychological abuse Biography, including race/ethnicity, class and culture and the current context of women’s lives shape perceptions of alternatives Leaving is a process and does not end abuse Many women never report abuse, so there’s no documentation Women fight back and are not passive or helpless There is no “test” to diagnose “battered woman syndrome”

14. WHAT WE DON’T KNOW Proportion of all female perpetrated IPHs preceded by IPV victimization Validity of retrospective accounts of women who kill, their families, victim’s families Role of serious mental illness in female perpetrated IPH Role of drugs and alcohol in female perpetrated IPH Overall sentencing patterns for male & female IPH perpetrators