To describe the epidemiology of intimate partner violence (IPV) homicide in Massachusetts, an IPV mortality data set developed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health was analyzed. The rates of death were estimated by dividing the number of decedents over the aged-matched population and Poisson regression was used to estimate the contribution of race, ethnicity, and foreign-born status to the risk of dying from IPV. Out of the total 270 women whose deaths were associated with IPV, 239 (89%) were killed by a male partner. Black women had a risk of dying from IPV of 16.2 per 1,000,000 person-years. Hispanic women also had a higher risk of dying from IPV than non-Hispanic women; incidence risk ratio of 9.7 (Poisson regression 95% confidence interval 6.8-13.8). IPV femicide disproportionately affected Black and Hispanic women. Agencies must consider the importance of providing culturally appropriate services to IPV survivors and their community.
Campbell, D.W., Sharps, P.W., Gary, F., Campbell, J.C., & Lopez, L.M. ( 2002). Intimate partner violence in African American women. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 7,1-21. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume72002/No1Jan2002/AfricanAmericanWomenPartnerViolence.aspx
2.
Campbell, J.C. ( 2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. Lancet, 359, 1331-1336.
3.
Campbell, J.C., Webster, D., Koziol-McLain, J., Block, C., Campbell, D., Curry, M.A., et al. (2003). Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1089-1097.
4.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 2003). Costs of intimate partner violence against women in the United States. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention.
5.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 2004). Injury and violence prevention. In Healthy People 2010 (Volume II). Washington, DC: Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from http://www.healthypeople.gov/document/HTML/Volume2/15Injury.htm#_Toc490549392
6.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 2009). Bridged-race population estimates (Vintage 2007) request . Atlanta, GA: Author. Retrieved January 5, 2009, from http://wonder.cdc.gov/Bridged-Race-v2007.HTML
7.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Intimate Partner Violence: Fact Sheet, 2004. Retrieved March 8, 2005, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/IPV_factsheet-a.pdf
8.
Field, C.A., & Caetano, R. ( 2003). Longitudinal model predicting partner violence among White, Black, and Hispanic couples in the United States. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research, 27, 1451-1458.
9.
Field, C.A., & Caetano, R. ( 2005). Intimate partner violence in the U.S. general population: Progress and future directions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 20, 463-469.
10.
Frome, E.L. ( 1983). The analysis of rate using Poisson regression models . Biometrics, 39, 665-674.
11.
Frye, V. ( 2005). Femicide in New York City: 1990 to 1999. Homicide Studies, 9, 204-228.
12.
Groves, B.M. ( 2002). Community responses to children who witness violence . In Children who see too much: Lessons from the child witness to violence project (pp. 104-126). Boston: Beacon Press.
13.
Gunderson, L. ( 2002). Intimate-partner violence: The need for primary prevention in the community. Annals of Internal Medicine, 136, 637-640.
14.
Hathaway, J.E., Mucci, L.A., Silverman, J.G., Brooks, D.R., Mathews, R., & Pavlos, C.A. ( 2000). Health status and health care use of Massachusetts women reporting partner abuse. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , 19, 302-307.
15.
Malcoe, L.H., Duran, B.M., & Montgomery, J.M. (2004). Socioeconomic disparities in intimate partner violence against native American women: A cross-sectional study. BioMed Central, 2, 20.
16.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health. ( 2009). Massachusetts Violent Death Reporting System. Boston: Author.
17.
McCauley, J., Kern, D.E., Kolodner, K., Dill, L., Schroeder, A.F., DeChant, H.K., et al. (1995). The "battering syndrome": Prevalence and clinical characteristics of domestic violence in primary care internal medicine practices. Annals of Internal Medicine, 123, 737-746.
18.
McCloskey, L.A., Figueredo, A.J., & Koss, M.P. ( 1995). The effects of systemic violence on children’s mental health. Child Development, 66, 1239-1261.
19.
McFarlane, J., Parker, B., & Soeken, K. ( 1996). Abuse during pregnancy: Associations with maternal health and infant birth weight. Nursing Research, 45, 37-42.
20.
Paulozzi, L.J., Saltzman, L.E., Thopson, M.P., & Holmgreen, P. ( 2001). Surveillance for homicide among intimate partners-United States, 1981-1998. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 50(SS03), 1-6.
21.
Raj, A., & Silverman, J.G. (2002a). Intimate partner violence against South Asian women in greater Boston. Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association, 57, 111-114.
22.
Raj, A., & Silverman, J. ( 2002b). Violence against immigrant women: The roles of culture, context, and legal immigrant status on intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 8, 367-398.
23.
Rennison, C.M. ( 2003). Intimate partner violence, 1993-2000: Crime data brief (NCJ 197838). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
24.
Rennison, C.M., & Welchans, S. ( 2000). Intimate partner violence. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved February 3, 2009, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=178247
25.
Saltzman, L.E., Fanslow, J.L., McMahon, P.M., & Shelley, G.A. ( 2002). Intimate partner violence surveillance uniform definitions and recommended data elements: Version 1.0. Atlanta, GA : CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control .
26.
Schafer, J., Caetano, R., & Clark, C.L. ( 1998). Rates of intimate partner violence in the United States . American Journal of Public Health, 88, 1702-1704.
27.
Silverman, J.G., Raj, A., Mucci, L.A., & Hathaway, J.E. (2001). Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy and suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 286, 572-579.
28.
Sorenson, S., Upchurch, D.M., & Shen, H. ( 1996). Violence and injury in marital arguments: Risk patterns and gender differences. American Journal of Public Health , 86, 35-40.
29.
Strauss, M.A., & Gelles, R.J. ( 1986). Societal change and change in family violence from 1975 to 1985 as revealed by two national surveys. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 5, 465-479.
30.
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. ( 1998). Prevalence, incidence and consequences of violence against women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
31.
Tollestrup, K., Sklar, D., Frost, F.J., Olson, L., Weybright, J., Sandvig, J., et al. (1999). Health indicators and intimate partner violence among women who are members of a managed care organization. Preventive Medicine, 29, 431-440.
32.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). DP-2. Profile of selected social characteristics: 2000 (Census 2000 data for the state of Massachusetts). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau Public Information Office. Retrieved March 2, 2006, from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=04000US25&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_DP2&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-redoLog=false
33.
Wisner, C.L., Gilmer, T.P., Saltzman, L.E., & Zink, T.M. ( 1999). Intimate partner violence against women: Do victims cost health plans more? Journal of Family Practice, 48, 439-443.
34.
Wilt, S. ( 2000). Testimony: New York City Department of Health Office of Public Affairs before the Committee on Women’s Issues. New York: New York City Council.
35.
Yoshioka, M.R., Golbert, L., El-Bassel, N., & Baig-Amin, M. ( 2003). Social support and disclosure of abuse: Comparing South Asian, African American, and Hispanic battered women. Journal of Family Violence, 18, 171-180.
