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09-04-2024 | ORIGINAL ARTICLE

How to Prevent Domestic Homicides: A Qualitative Study of Recommendations from a Canadian Domestic Homicide Review Committee

Authors: Michael Saxton, Shaz Bukhari, Peter Jaffe, Katreena Scott, Prabhu Rajan, Kay Reif, Dan Zamfir

Published in: Journal of Family Violence

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Abstract

Purpose

Since 2003, all domestic violence-related homicides in Ontario, Canada have been reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee. This committee conducts in-depth analyses to help understand what may have been done differently, with hindsight, and make recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future. This study examined all recommendations made by the Ontario Domestic Violence Death Review Committee over a 10-year period (2010–2020).

Methods

This study undertook a thematic analysis of all recommendations provided within 219 domestic homicide case reviews. Using a multistep coding process, several recurring themes were found across 400 recommendations.

Results

Results of this study identified consistent themes related to public awareness, professional education and enhanced systems, community agency collaboration and risk assessment, safety planning, and risk management.

Conclusions

These themes parallel findings by similar research studies undertaken in the United States, parts of the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Ongoing challenges in the implementation of these recommendations and an evaluation of the impact of this work in reducing homicides is discussed.
Literature
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Metadata
Title
How to Prevent Domestic Homicides: A Qualitative Study of Recommendations from a Canadian Domestic Homicide Review Committee
Authors
Michael Saxton
Shaz Bukhari
Peter Jaffe
Katreena Scott
Prabhu Rajan
Kay Reif
Dan Zamfir
Publication date
09-04-2024
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Family Violence
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-024-00693-0