A lawyer's guide to assessing dangerousness for domestic violence.

• Author: Karan, Amy

A woman is beaten in her own home so severely by her husband that she suffers a bloodied, black eye and a fractured arm, because he does not like the clothes she put on that day. Their two minor children stand by, eyes wide open, frightened beyond imagination, for the safety of their mother and themselves. She is what is tantamount to a prisoner in her own home; what some would call a personal, domestic form of terrorism.

Another woman is followed everywhere by her estranged husband who calls her on her cell phone incessantly, recounting her day's activities back to her, leaving her with the ominous threat that if he can't have her, no one else will. She has not been beaten or physically harmed, but the emotional and psychological terror is real.

Are these women in danger of future violence, and possibly even death? This article is intended to serve as a primer for practitioners on gauging potential dangerousness or lethality posed in cases involving domestic violence.

The statistics are staggering. Up to 1,300 women are killed each year in the United States by husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends, or ex-boyfriends; a crime which has become literally defined as "femicide," approximating three to four deaths per day on average. (1) Femicide is the seventh leading cause of premature death for women in the United States, and the number one cause of death for African American women ages 15-34. Florida also holds the dubious distinction of leading the nation with the highest number of murder-suicides. (2) Additionally, for every femicide there are eight more women who were seriously assaulted and are considered "near deaths."

While domestic homicides account for 20 percent to one-third of all homicides nationally, experts have concluded that domestic homicides are the single most preventable types of homicides. (3) Between 67 percent and 80 percent of female intimate partner homicide victims have been previously battered by their murderer. Therefore, prior domestic violence is clearly the number one indicator of further danger or lethality. Recognizing this, lives are saved in communities across the country where domestic violence is viewed as a criminal matter, rather than a "civil family matter," and steps are taken to coordinate the community's response. (4)

Domestic abuse is a common phenomenon which may confront the practitioner in many types of cases, including orders of protection, dissolution of marriage proceedings, paternity and child support cases, criminal cases, as well as juvenile dependency or delinquency actions. Even when domestic violence does not seem immediately apparent, it may be present. Therefore, it is important for the practitioner to be aware of the power and control dynamics involved and the recognized risk factors in order to provide effective intervention and representation. (5)

Warning Signs

As Yogi Berra said, "Prediction is very hard to do--especially if it is about the future." Notwithstanding, in the past 10 years, studies have been conducted which help to identify factors which may predict probability of re-assault or homicide. While the field of risk assessment is still very young, there are behaviors, which point to elevated danger. The following checklist and accompanying questions may be utilized with clients involved in an abusive situation to assess the level of risk posed:

1) Mental Health Issues

* Suicidal

Does he or she ever talk about killing him or herself, or say that he or she will not be able to live without...