54 domestic violence murders from 2006-2015, RICADV reports

February 25, 2016 10:53 am

Jami Ouellette, sister of domestic violence victim

By: Elisha Kay Aldrich

The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence (RICADV) has released the first ever domestic violence report for the state of Rhode Island. The report revealed that over the past ten years, 54 people have been killed due to domestic violence.

The report covers from 2006 to 2015, and contains key findings, homicide incident descriptions and recommendations for preventing future domestic violence homicides. The data in the report showed that the homicides are largely an issue of violence against women. Of the 45 victims killed in intimate partner homicide incidents, 34 were female. Four men were killed when they were bystanders to an attack on a woman by her male partner. Guns were the most common weapons used in these killings.

The RICADV also made five recommendations to help eliminate domestic violence in the state, which include investing in community responses to domestic violence, to implement dangerousness assessments and screen all domestic violence cases for lethality risk factors. They also recommend that the General Assembly strengthen current domestic violence legislation, and pass legislation to prevent convicted domestic abusers from getting guns. Finally, a fund should be established to “support evidence-substantiated public health approaches to the primary prevention of domestic violence.”

Last year, seven people were killed in domestic violence cases. Two people have been killed so far in 2016.