Abstract
Domestic homicide is the most extreme form of domestic violence. These deaths often appear to be predictable and preventable with hindsight, based on information from various death review process across the world. Prior research has identified citizenship status, length of stay, trauma and stress in the migration context as contributors to domestic violence. However, these factors have not been explored within the context of domestic homicide and the present study examined these factors among immigrant perpetrators.A retrospective case analysis approach was performed using domestic homicide cases that had been reviewed by the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee in Ontario, Canada. Perpetrators with a history of pre-migration trauma had significantly more identified risk factors for domestic homicide. Additionally, they were more likely to engage in stalking behaviours and have more identified post-migration stressors. However, the number of agencies involved did not significantly differ between perpetrators with or without a history of pre-migration trauma. Pre-migration trauma is a critical factor in understanding the risk profiles of immigrant perpetrators. Standardized risk assessment tools generally do not screen for pre-migration trauma and it may be overlooked by professionals when evaluating risk of homicide or when engaging in risk management strategies. It is imperative that professionals are more aware of the relationship between migration trauma and domestic violence perpetration and there is continued research and development of specialized risk assessment tools to aid in domestic homicide prevention initiatives.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adames, S. B., & Campbell, R. (2005). Immigrant Latinas’ conceptualizations of intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 11(10), 1341–1364.
Adams, M. E., & Campbell, J. (2012). Being undocumented & intimate partner violence (IPV): Multiple vulnerabilities through the lens of feminist intersectionality. Women’s Health and Urban Life, 11(1), 15–34.
Alleyne-Green, B., Kulick, A., Grocher, K., & Betancourt, T. S. (2018). Physical and sexual violence experienced by male war-affected youth: implications for post-conflict functioning and intimate relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518792963.
Ashbourne, L. M., & Baobaid, M. (2019). A collectivist perspective for addressing family violence in minority newcomer communities in North America: Culturally integrative family safety responses. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 11(2), 315–329.
Balica, E., & Stöckl, H. (2016). Homicide–suicides in Romania and the role of migration. European Journal of Criminology, 13(4), 517–534.
Baobaid, M., & Ashbourne, L. (2016). Family violence interventions with Muslim communities: Culturally integrative family safety response. New York: Routledge.
Baobaid, M., Ashbourne, L., Tam, D., Badahdah, A., & Al Jamal, A. (2018). Pre- and post-migration stressors and marital relations among Arab refugee families in Canada. Doha: Doha International Family Institute.
Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (1995). Controlling the false discovery rate: A practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. Journal of the Royal statistical society: series B (Methodological), 57(1), 289–300.
Brownridge, D. A., & Halli, S. S. (2002). Double jeopardy?: Violence against immigrant women in Canada. Violence and Victims, 17(4), 455–471.
Bugeja, L., Dawson, M., McIntyre, S., & Walsh, C. (2015). Domestic/family violence death reviews: An international comparison. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16(2), 179–187.
Chen, I. (2011). Chronological & Comparative Trends in Intimate Partner Homicide: Massachusetts from 1993–2009 (unpublished Master’s thesis). New Haven: Yale University.
Clark, C. J., Everson-Rose, S. A., Suglia, S. F., Btoush, R., Alonso, A., & Haj-Yahia, M. M. (2010). Association between exposure to political violence and intimate-partner violence in the occupied Palestinian territory: A cross-sectional study. The Lancet, 375(9711), 310–316.
Daoud, N., O’Campo, P., Urquia, M. L., & Heaman, M. (2012). Neighbourhood context and abuse among immigrant and non-immigrant women in Canada: Findings from the maternity experiences survey. International Journal of Public Health, 57(4), 679–689.
David, N. (2008). Exploring the use of domestic violence fatality review teams. Australian domestic and family violence clearinghouse issues paper, 15, 1–20. Retrived from https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2008-04/apo-nid1956.pdf.
Dawson, M., Jaffe, P., Campbell, M., Lucas, W., & Kerr, K. (2017). Canada. In M. Dawson (Ed.), Domestic homicides and death reviews: An international perspective (pp. 59–90). London: Palgrave McMillan.
Du Mont, J., Hyman, I., O'Brien, K., White, M. E., Odette, F., & Tyyskä, V. (2012). Factors associated with intimate partner violence by a former partner by immigration status and length of residence in Canada. Annals of Epidemiology, 22(11), 772–777.
Earner, I. (2010). Double risk: Immigrant mothers, domestic violence and public child welfare services in New York City. Evaluation and Program Planning, 33(3), 288–293.
Edelstein, A. (2018). Intimate partner jealousy and femicide among former Ethiopians in Israel. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(2), 383–403.
Erez, E., Adelman, M., & Gregory, C. (2009). Intersections of immigration and domestic violence: Voices of battered immigrant women. Feminist Criminology, 4(1), 32–56.
Frye, V., Galea, S., Tracy, M., Bucciarelli, A., Putnam, S., & Wilt, S. (2008). The role of neighbourhood environment and risk of intimate partner femicide in a large urban area. American Journal of Public Health, 98(8), 1473–1479.
Gupta, J., Acevedo-Garcia, D., Hemenway, D., Decker, M. R., Raj, A., & Silverman, J. G. (2009). Premigration exposure to political violence and perpetration of intimate partner violence among immigrant men in Boston. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3), 462–469.
Gupta, J., Acevedo-Garcia, D., Hemenway, D., Decker, M., Raj, A., & Silverman, J. (2010). IPV perpetration, immigration status, and disparities in a community health center-based sample of men. Public Health Reports, 125, 79–87.
Gupta, J., Reed, E., Kelly, J., Stein, D. J., & Williams, D. R. (2012). Men's exposure to human rights violations and relations with perpetration of intimate partner violence in South Africa. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 66(6), e2–e2.
Guruge, S. (2014). Perceptions about and responses to intimate partner violence in the Sinhalese immigrant community in Toronto. Arts and social sciences journal, 1, e006–e006. https://doi.org/10.4172/2151-6200.S1-006.
Holtmann, C., & Tramonte, L. (2014). Tracking the emotional cost of immigration: Ethno-religious differences and women’s mental health. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 15(4), 633–654.
Hurwitz, E. J. H., Gupta, J., Liu, R., Silverman, J. G., & Raj, A. (2006). Intimate partner violence associated with poor health outcomes in US south Asian women. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 8(3), 251–261.
Hyman, I., Forte, T., Du Mont, J., Romans, S., & Cohen, M. M. (2006). The association between length of stay in Canada and intimate partner violence among immigrant women. American Journal of Public Health, 96(4), 654–659.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. (2018). 2018 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/annual-report-2018.pdf.
International Organization for Migration. (2017). Key migration terms. Retrieved from https://www.iom.int/key-migration-terms.
Jin, X., & Keat, J. E. (2009). The effects of change in spousal power on intimate partner violence among Chinese immigrants. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(4), 610–625.
Keller, A., Joscelyne, A., Granski, M., & Rosenfeld, B. (2017). Pre-migration trauma exposure and mental health functioning among central American migrants arriving at the US border. PLoS One, 12(1), e0168692.
Kirmayer, L. J., Narasiah, L., Munoz, M., Rashid, M., Ryder, A. G., Guzder, J., et al. (2011). Common mental health problems in immigrants and refugees: General approach in primary care. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 183(12), E959–E967.
Kotsadam, A., & Østby, G. (2019). Armed conflict and maternal mortality: a micro-level analysis of sub-Saharan Africa, 1989–2013. Social Science & Medicine, 239, 112526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112526.
Lee, Y. S., & Hadeed, L. (2009). Intimate partner violence among Asian immigrant communities health/mental health consequences, help-seeking behaviors, and service utilization. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 10(2), 143–170.
Lee, J., Pomeroy, E. C., & Bohman, T. M. (2007). Intimate partner violence and psychological health in a sample of Asian and Caucasian women: The roles of social support and coping. Journal of Family Violence, 22(8), 709–720.
Li, M. (2016). Pre-migration trauma and post-migration stressors for Asian and Latino American immigrants: Transnational stress proliferation. Social Indicators Research, 129(1), 47–59.
Marshall, A. D., Panuzio, J., & Taft, C. T. (2005). Intimate partner violence among military veterans and active duty servicemen. Clinical Psychology Review, 25(7), 862–876.
McDonald, J. H. (2014). Multiple comparisons. In Handbook of biological statistics (3rd ed., pp. 257-263). Baltimore: Sparky House.
Ní Aoláin, F., Haynes, D., & Cahn, N. (2010). On the frontlines: Gender, war and the postconflict process. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Noe, D., & Rieckmann, J. (2013). Violent Behaviour: The effect of civil conflict on domestic violence in Colombia (no. 136). Courant research Centre: Poverty, equity and growth-discussion papers.
O'Neil, Brianna L. (2016). “Domestic homicide and homicide-suicide in the older population”. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 3509. Retrieved from: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/3509.
Raj, A., & Silverman, J. (2002). Violence against immigrant women: The roles of culture, context, and legal immigrant status on intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 8, 367–398.
Sabri, B., Campbell, J. C., & Dabby, F. C. (2016). Gender differences in intimate partner homicides among ethnic sub-groups of Asians. Violence Against Women, 22(4), 432–453.
Sabri, B., Nnawulezi, N., Njie-Carr, V. P., Messing, J., Ward-Lasher, A., Alvarez, C., & Campbell, J. C. (2018). Multilevel risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence among African, Asian, and Latina immigrant and refugee women: Perceptions of effective safety planning interventions. Race and Social Problems, 10(4), 348–365.
Saile, R., Neuner, F., Ertl, V., & Catani, C. (2013). Prevalence and predictors of partner violence against women in the aftermath of war: A survey among couples in northern Uganda. Social Science & Medicine, 86, 17–25.
Taft, C. T., Watkins, L. E., Stafford, J., Street, A. E., & Monson, C. M. (2011). Posttraumatic stress disorder and intimate relationship problems: A meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(1), 22–33.
United Nations (2017). International Migration Report. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2017_Highlights.pdf.
Vatnar, S. K. B., Friestad, C., & Bjørkly, S. (2017). Intimate partner homicide, immigration and citizenship: Evidence from Norway 1990–2012. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 18(2), 103–122.
Wako, E., Elliott, L., De Jesus, S., Zotti, M. E., Swahn, M. H., & Beltrami, J. (2015). Conflict, displacement, and IPV: Findings from two Congolese refugee camps in Rwanda. Violence Against Women, 21(9), 1087–1101.
Wilson, R. M., Murtaza, R., & Shakya, Y. B. (2010). Pre-migration and post-migration determinants of mental health for newly arrived refugees in Toronto. Canadian Issues. Immigrant Mental Health, Summer, 2010, 45–49. Retrieved from https://www-proquestcom.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/docview/763168977/abstract/EF761DC97644384PQ/1?accountid=15115.
Acknowledgements
The researchers would like to acknowledge the Ontario Domestic Violence Death Review Committee with the Office of the Chief Coroner. Without its existence and support, this study would not have taken place.
Funding
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
David, R., Jaffe, P. Pre-Migration Trauma and Post-Migration Stress Associated with Immigrant Perpetrators of Domestic Homicide. J Fam Viol 36, 551–561 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00259-4
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00259-4