Criminologists are offered information from a variety of sources. Each of these sources serves a different role in conveying information. Published materials like government documents, peer reviewed journals and news articles use different syntax and serve specific roles. This paper will look at the differences in recording and relaying information between these three alternatives.
Peer reviewed journals.
Stöckl, H., Devries, K., Rotstein, A., Abrahams, N., Campbell, J., Watts, C., & Moreno, C. G. (2013). The global prevalence of intimate partner homicide: a systematic review. The Lancet , 382 (9895), 859-865.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The authors used databases to conduct studies and supplemented those findings with a survey of official sources to determine the prevalence of homicidal cases. At least one in seven homicidal cases is carried out by an intimate partner. The cases occurring often conclude a run of domestic violence against the victim. To curb the cases of the homicides, several reforms have been suggested include support for females experiencing spousal violence, gun control of owners who have a history of violence, and more investment in intimate partner violence deterrence. However, improvements have to be done by countries to monitor these cases.
Howard, M. (1986). Husband-wife homicide: An essay from a family law perspective. Law & Contemp. Probs. , 49 , 63.
Spousal homicides occur with a more intense degree of violence and as such, they are perceived as crimes of passion. Husband to wife arguments are more heated and are the major cause of spousal homicides. The best way to manage these cases would be the controlling or banning of firearm ownership but this would not be feasible. In the moment, the aggressor would have to reach for the next available weapon, which is a knife, and opt for less lethality. However, this is not the best alternative as damage would still be done. It would also jeopardize the survival chances of a battered woman since the gun was the best option.
Wilson, M., & Daly, M. (1993). Spousal homicide risk and estrangement. Violence and victims , 8 , 3-3.’
In cases of spousal violence, many cases involve the husband against his wife or a rival. This situation arises due to a proprietary masculine sexual thinking that views a woman or a wife as a sexual and reproductive commodity that has to be retained. Thus a husband may go after the rival to ‘protect’ their wives of after the wife to deter her from pursuing alternatives. Either way there is a need to acknowledge the risk of violence to women and engage in actions to guarantee their safety. Furthermore, there is also a need to reclaim women’s right to autonomy.
Government documents.
Murder-Suicide in Families | National Institute of Justice. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/intimate-partner-violence/Pages/murder-suicide.aspx#noteReferrer1 .
In situations where an individual kills the spouse, then the children, and finally themselves, it is almost always a male perpetrator. The perpetrators are also more likely to have past violence records and are known by authorities. Incidentally, most cases of murder-suicide are carried out with a gun, more than any other weapon. States with less rigid gun laws have more cases than those with restrictive gun control. These cases are often caused by a person with obsessive and possessive behavior and most of them occur after the declaration of being left by a partner. Similarly, economic distress and money are big influencers.
Causes and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence | National Institute of Justice. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/intimate-partner-violence/pages/causes.aspx
Studies show that in one out of five violence cases, the incident was the first case of violence. The incident is also more likely to occur when a woman threatens to leave. In most violent cases, the perpetrators had indulged in drug intake either before or during the assault. There was also a strong link between the cases and unemployment which also increased with lower household income rates. Early parenthood also poses a risk to violence, as studies show that parents (either father or mother) who were below 21 years were more likely to abusers or victims.
(2019). Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/70154NCJRS.pdf .
There are several variations of domestic violence ranging from child abuse to elderly abuse. However, more attention has been given to wife violence at home, as studies now show that women are at more risk of violence while at home than on the streets. Statistics have already shown the number of deaths due to spousal violence but what may have been skipped was that family disputes also account to 40% of police injuries and also contributes to their deaths. More often, interventions have been hampered since no structures exist to address these situations, which expose the women who stay in the relationships and risk injury and death.
Newspaper articles.
Murders by Intimate Partners Are on the Rise, Study Finds. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/us/domestic-violence-victims.html
Homicides by intimate partners are on the rise and this has been attributed to gun violence. Victims’ numbers have been rising, and most of these have been female cases. In all these cases the majority of the victims have been women and the number of male victims has been steadily declining. Intervention by the government has been sought and has been led by the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. This would also go toward barring individuals issued with restraining orders from acquiring firepower.
(2019). Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/investigations/domestic-violence-murders/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2034bd76d3d2 .
These cases provide numeral chances for intervention which are not taken since the victim is afraid. A restraining order against an irate lover may anger them and as such, it often does not provide assurance from harm. In some cases, the victims see the clear warning signs and follow legal procedures to protect themselves but the efforts do not bear fruit. The most common sign is strangulation, which has been shown to indicate the aggressor’s predisposition to murder. Unlike other homicidal cases, intimate case ones are often more brutal, involving close encounters such as beatings, stabbings and strangulation.
Ryan Prior, C. (2019). Domestic violence: Get help and be a part of the change. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/12/us/iyw-how-to-help-domestic-violence/index.html .
Although men are mostly the perpetrators of intimate violence, studies show that men are also victims of domestic violence. Furthermore, these cases may be more than they are reported given the societal perspective of behavior expected from men. This often leads to reluctance towards seeking help against rising tensions, which may end up in violence and killings. Resources have been put in place to help both male and female victims to prevent and manage escalating situations. Similarly, the same sex relationships also have a high prevalence of intimate partner violence. This has been approximated to equal or exceed heterosexual relationships.
All the research alternatives provide insight on criminal cases and trends. They are, however, differently structured and, therefore, differently suited. The government documents seek to lay out the facts and are very conclusive but lack comprehensiveness. They ensure brevity by laying out the general facts and skipping the minute details. The peer reviewed journals seek to derive insight by subjecting the data and the facts to statistical methods and generating relations and interventions to be made. Due to their structure, these journals are very comprehensive and outline the step-by-step process of reaching a conclusion. Newspaper articles are informative and unlike journals, they veer off the topic to affected variables (like the families stories), and in the process allow for opinions and sentiments to be formed.
References
Murder-Suicide in Families | National Institute of Justice. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/intimate-partner-violence/Pages/murder-suicide.aspx#noteReferrer1
Howard, M. (1986). Husband-wife homicide: An essay from a family law perspective. Law & Contemp. Probs. , 49 , 63.
Stöckl, H., Devries, K., Rotstein, A., Abrahams, N., Campbell, J., Watts, C., & Moreno, C. G. (2013). The global prevalence of intimate partner homicide: a systematic review. The Lancet , 382 (9895), 859-865.
Wilson, M., & Daly, M. (1993). Spousal homicide risk and estrangement. Violence and victims , 8 , 3-3.’
Causes and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence | National Institute of Justice. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/intimate-partner-violence/pages/causes.aspx
(2019). Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/70154NCJRS.pdf
Murders by Intimate Partners Are on the Rise, Study Finds. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/us/domestic-violence-victims.html
(2019). Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/investigations/domestic-violence-murders/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2034bd76d3d2
Ryan Prior, C. (2019). Domestic violence: Get help and be a part of the change. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/12/us/iyw-how-to-help-domestic-violence/index.html
