Web resource:	http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/Newsletter_21.pdf
Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Literature review on the establishment of domestic violence fatality review teams
Other Titles:	Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse newsletter
Authors:	Stewart, Julie
Keywords:	Prevention;Risk assessment;Screening;Legal issues;Homicide
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse, UNSW
Citation:	21, April 2005
Notes:	This article gives an overview of a literature review, conducted on behalf of the NSW Attorney-General’s Department, on domestic homicide review teams. The literature review looked at the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada and also other death review processes such as child death reviews. Domestic homicide review teams generally examine the features and events leading up to the killing of an intimate partner and/or family members and/or suicide of the perpetrator against a background of domestic violence. This includes: the killing of a domestic violence perpetrator by the victim in response to domestic violence; the killing of a sexual rival by the domestic violence perpetrator; and the killings of ‘collateral’ victims (family members, friends and others who have helped the primary victim). The purpose of such review teams is to understand where there were gaps in service delivery prior to the homicidal event by focusing on victims’ contact with intervention strategies, and by understanding (not blaming) the agencies’ roles in order for improvement and for effective risk assessment to prevent such killings in the future. Maintaining confidentiality and security of information were found to be main concerns. Ethical and legal issues concerning the selection of cases to be reviewed in order not to compromise the investigative processes by the police and coroner were identified. Limited literature on the evaluation of domestic homicide review processes was found. However, the available literature indicates that if such reviews were established by legislation and were well resourced, they could give governments insights into the realities of domestic violence, issues of access to appropriate services and methods to assess the risks, in order to save lives and prevent domestic homicides.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/15650
ISSN:	1443-7236
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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