Don’t be a victim of fatal domestic violence

On behalf of Johnson, Sclafani & Moriarty, Attorneys at Law posted in Domestic Violence on Thursday, June 2, 2016.

When we think of love, most of us don’t consider violence as its counterpart. Yet for some women here in the United States, the two go hand in hand. According to statistics provided by Huffington Post, on Jan. 1 of this year eight women in America died at the hands of a current or ex- boyfriend, lover or husband.

The pace of women’s deaths from domestic violence did not abate, with one or more being murdered by an abuser every day somewhere in our nation. In a single month, HuffPo tracked now fewer than 112 deaths due to alleged homicide by an intimate partner. Some were collateral damage, as in the case of children of the abused, as well as bystanders when the violence occurred.

There’s also another issue that complicates the matter, according to one social policy professor from the University of Pennsylvania who has researched ways to prevent violence. She states, “We tell women repeatedly to leave the abuser… but when she does she increases her risk of homicide.”

In many of the killings followed by Huffpo, the women who died had previously suffered abuse in their relationships with their killers. Often there were red flags indicating that fatal violence could be possible.

In the cases they studied, a full 57 percent of alleged homicides involving intimate partners in a single month were committed with firearms. In cases where abusers have ready access to guns, the chance of a victim being killed is five times higher. Simply living in states that have high rates of firearm ownership raises women’s chances of dying due to a gunshot during a domestic violence episode, one study determined.

An analysis by the Associated Press discovered that, on average, 760 United States residents die each year from being shot by their intimate partners. However, that may be on the low side, as the number fails to include bystanders and children. Of that annual total, over 80 percent were females.

If you are in an abusive relationship, a Massachusetts family law attorney can help you file for a restraining order against your abuser as part of a divorce or separation.

Source: Huffington Post, “This is not a love story,” Melissa Jeltsen, accessed June 02, 2016