Citation

Rakotomahanina L, Ghaith A, Die G. Rev. Med. Leg. 2010; 1(3-4): 81-86.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.medleg.2010.09.002

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

For too long, domestic violence, including spousal homicide appeared as a fatality against which we could not do anything. However, to date, researchers have developed strategies to try to prevent and avoid spousal homicide. In this study, we demonstrated that early warning signs of domestic homicide can be detected on the victims examined in the UML. We collected the first signs of domestic homicide in the literature and were identified in the context of violence against women considered at the UML of Pontoise in 2008. Two hundred and sixty-six women victims of domestic violence among the 2401 victims of intentional violence (11 % of cases) were examined in 2008 at the UML. Among the warning signs of domestic homicide, we have identified: (1) the repeatability of violence: 94 % of cases. The study shows that the risk of homicide increases with the recurrence of violence; (2) separation: 16 % of cases. The risk is important when the woman decides to terminate or not to obey or to initiate a divorce or abuse after they are divorced; (3) the verbal threats of death or suicide of the authors: 12 % of cases. There is a risk of acting out at any time; (4) the use of weapons or threats with weapons: 31 % of cases of which 52 % by blunt weapon, 30 % by stab and 18 % by other weapons; (5) violence by strangulation or suffocation: 21 % of cases, death may occur, if only by reflex inhibition following a brutal shock to the pharynx or compression of the sinuses carotid; (6) the physical violence associated with sexual assault: 8 % of cases; (7) the intensification of the effects of violence during the past year (11 women victims of two or three episodes of violence during the four days before the examination to the UML); (8) the difficulties encountered by victims to save themselves: in 91 % of cases, violence at home, confined space, in 26 % of cases, violence between 22 h and 05 h night, violence against vulnerable victims: six aged 60, four pregnant, eight minor girls, four disabled; (9) the profile of perpetrators of violence: 18 % under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs; 5 %, under that of constant morbid jealousy; three authors had a psychiatric disorder known. It should be noted that 35 % of victims of our study brought together more than three signs above the same time. This means they may be more vulnerable than others. In our study, no spousal homicide was observed. This favorable outcome can be considered as the result of multidisciplinary efforts to address the fight against domestic violence. But the importance of the frequency of risk situations in our study is an incentive to detect and deal with the victims before their complaint, in a multidisciplinary way so as to spot the signs warning on all domestic homicide victim and act accordingly to prevent the death.