Risk or vulnerability: red flags for intimate partner violence

The increase in focus on violence amongst current or former partners reveals a chronic problem characterised by a complex suite of individual indicators and social determinants. This paper examines the current thinking about risk factors for perpetrator escalation of intimate partner violence as well as looking at victim vulnerabilities which exacerbate the risk of lethal assault. As no individual factor can explain more than ten per cent of risk or vulnerability, we need to look at models which embrace complexity. I present a framework which identifies the combination of factors which present the likely catalysts for intimate partner homicide and discuss how this might be useful for screening and risk assessment.