Furor Over Maternal Homicide: Are We Losing Sight of the Primary Issue?

• NCJ Number: 219274
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 18 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2007 Pages: 153-167
• Author(s): Jocelyn Fontaine; Angela Moore Parmley
• Date Published: June 2007
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This research review explores the relationships among intimate partner violence, pregnancy, and intimate partner homicide in order to analyze whether the media sensationalism surrounding maternal homicide cases has deflected attention away from the primary issue of intimate partner violence.

Abstract

The analysis concludes that researchers and policymakers need to stay focused on the real issue underlying maternal homicide, which is violence against women and its consequences for women, children, and communities. The literature review reveal that maternal homicide is overwhelmingly the result of intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Although the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 cast attention to the problem of maternal homicide, it cannot combat intimate partner violence on its own and it shifted the focus away from the underlying cause of maternal homicide--intimate partner violence--and onto unborn babies. The authors urge researchers to share their research findings in public forums and to policymakers in an attempt to inform social policy regarding violence against women. In terms of practical implications, the literature findings underscore the need for health care practitioners to screen for and intervene in cases of intimate partner violence, and this is especially true during prenatal visits. The criminal justice system, social service agencies, and court officials should also be aware of the risk of intimate partner violence against pregnant women and implement well-documented and evaluated interventions. Future research should begin to focus on the collection of national estimates of homicide or victimization against pregnant women. In collecting these estimates, researchers are cautioned to use consistent measures of violence against pregnant women to enable comparisons across studies. Other research efforts should address the effect of socioeconomic status and race on levels of violence and homicide against pregnant women. References