Intimate Partner Violence

Each month, approximately 50 American women are shot to death by intimate partners, and many more are injured. Faculty with our Center study policies and behaviors related to gun violence perpetrated by domestic violence offenders.

As firearms are the most common weapon used in intimate partner homicides (IPH), the Center seeks to identify whether existing purchase and possession prohibitions effectively keep firearms out of the hands of batterers.

Key Statistic

The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation makes it five times more likely that a woman will be killed.^[1]

“Research by our Center faculty has identified important gaps in laws designed to keep firearms from IPV perpetrators and the enforcement of those laws. Thirteen states and Federal law prohibit gun purchases by individuals convicted of domestic violence; if states were to extend this ban to people convicted of any violent misdemeanor, the result would be a twenty-three percent decrease in intimate partner homicides.”

– Daniel Webster, Center Director

Select Journal Articles

• Analysis of the Strength of Legal Firearms Restrictions for Perpetrators of Domestic Violence and Their Associations With Intimate Partner Homicide.
  Zeoli AM, McCourt A, Buggs S, Frattaroli S, Lilley D, Webster DW. Am J Epidemiol. 2018 Nov 1;187(11):2365-2371.
• Removing Firearms From Those Prohibited From Possession by Domestic Violence Restraining Orders: A Survey and Analysis of State Laws.
  Zeoli AM, Frattaroli S, Roskam K, Herrera AK. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2017 Jan 1:1524838017692384.
• Effects of policies designed to keep firearms from high-risk individuals.
  Webster DW, Wintemute GJ. Annu Rev Public Health. 2015 Mar 18;36:21-37.
• Identifying armed respondents to domestic violence restraining orders and recovering their firearms: process evaluation of an initiative in California.
  Wintemute GJ, Frattaroli S, Claire BE, Vittes KA, Webster DW. Am J Public Health. 2014 Feb;104(2):e113-8.
• Removing guns from batterers: findings from a pilot survey of domestic violence restraining order recipients in California.
  Vittes KA, Webster DW, Frattaroli S, Claire BE, Wintemute GJ. Violence Against Women. 2013 May;19(5):602-16.
• Women with protective orders report failure to remove firearms from their abusive partners: results from an exploratory study.
  Webster DW, Frattaroli S, Vernick JS, O'Sullivan C, Roehl J, Campbell JC. J Women’s Health (Larchmt). 2010 Jan;19(1):93-8.
• Risk factors for femicide within physically abusive intimate relationships: Results from a multi-site case control study.
  Campbell JC, Webster D, Koziol-McLain J, Block C, Campbell D, Curry MA, Gary F, Glass N, McFarlane J, Sachs C, Sharps P, Ulrich Y, Wilt SA, Manganello J, Xu X, Schollenberger J, Frye V, Laughon K. Am J Public Health. 2003 Jul;93(7):1089-97.
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Press Releases

• Strong Regulations on Gun Sales Prevent High-Risk Individuals from Accessing Firearms and Can Reduce Violent Crime, Study Finds
  Wed, 18 Mar 2015