Domestic Violence Deaths as Public Health Crisis

White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter recently failed to get a security clearance and was forced out because of evidence of physical abuse of two ex-wives and a girlfriend. Porter did not fit the stereotype that many people have of "wife beaters" as low-status, drunken products of abusive environments. He was a successful, attractive, Harvard-educated scion of good family. I think Porter's long escape from scrutiny reflects to some extent a denial about the frequency and seriousness of domestic violence. But there's a reason mystery writers rarely use spousal abuse in their murder puzzles; it's too common for a challenging plot. There's a reason fictional and real police investigators of female homicides put the husband or boyfriend at the top of the list of suspects. The real mystery of domestic violence is how little priority it is given as a "public health problem." Domestic violence isn't garnering terrifying headlines like mass shootings, but it takes more lives each year. A 2017 report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed that about 50% of the female homicides were killed by intimate partners, and the vast majority of those were carried out by a male partner (98%). This female-murder-by-partner epidemic affects all races and ethnic groups as well, per the report. Yet this is not a completely intractable social problem. Consider that, in 10% of cases, violence in the month before the killing provided an opportunity for intervention. First responders could assess risk factors for violence to "facilitate immediate safety planning and to connect women with other services, such as crisis intervention and counseling, housing, medical and legal advocacy," suggests the report. And when it comes to weapons of domestic partner murder, more than half involved firearms and 20% involved some sort of blade. Thus, the report points out, statutes limiting firearm access for people who are under domestic violence restraining orders also could help reduce the risk of homicide. For more CDC data, see https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/21/538518569/cdc-half-of-all-female-murder-victims-are-killed-by-intimate-partners