Researchers analyze domestic viole...( A task force that includes researche...),Health

A task force that includes researchers from the University of Cincinnati is revealing new findings after examining domestic violence-related deaths in Hamilton County, Ohio, from 1997-2006. Of the 48 people who died of domestic violence over that period, 94 percent of the victims were female, 77 percent were either separated or considering separation from their partner at the time of their death, and 43 percent died of a gunshot wound fired by their spouses. Forty-four percent of the victims died in a bedroom of their home. The majority of the victims, 57 percent, had endured prior abuse and the highest number of victims, 43 percent, was killed by their spouse than any significant other, according to the findings. The report also found that children were present in 28 percent of these tragedies.

The report, Intimate Partner Homicide: Hamilton County, Ohio 1997-2006, is the result of a Hamilton County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team that examined public information on intimate partner violence that turned deadly. The report was presented Oct. 26 at the Hamilton County Domestic Violence Coordinating Councils annual meeting in Sharonville.

Gary Dick, associate professor for the UC School of Social Work, along with his research assistant, Annie Dick, a graduate student in the School of Social Work, and Ann MacDonald, chair of the Fatality Review Team and executive director of Rape & Crisis Abuse Center of Hamilton County, conducted the research in collaboration with police departments and social service agencies to explore future policies and procedures for professionals who work with domestic violence victims, such as counselors, courts and safety officers. Similar studies have been conducted in Chicago, Houston and Boston.

Our purpose of the research was to determine if the risk factors for intimate homicide in the Cincinnati study were comparable to those found by nationally recognized domestic violence researcher Jacqueline Cam
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