Flying under and through the radar: Tactics used by intimate partner femicide perpetrators to evade interventions
Intimate partner femicide often emerges from abusive relationships marked by coercive control and intimate partner violence. While research has explored coercive control and perpetrators’ narratives, less is known about how perpetrators evade intervention before the murder. Building on Monckton Smit...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
International journal of law, crime and justice
Year: 2025, Volume: 82, Pages: 1-14 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | Intimate partner femicide often emerges from abusive relationships marked by coercive control and intimate partner violence. While research has explored coercive control and perpetrators’ narratives, less is known about how perpetrators evade intervention before the murder. Building on Monckton Smith’s homicide timeline, this study uses life histories from 97 incarcerated men across nine Latin American countries to examine their evasion strategies. Thematic analysis reveals seven tactics: social isolation, gaslighting, restricting employment, vilifying external threats, male peer alliances, body territorializing, and disrupting healthcare access. These strategies allowed perpetrators to "fly under the radar" of peers and institutions, highlighting missed intervention opportunities. Notably, male complicity emerged as a critical enabler, underscoring the community’s role in sustaining coercive dynamics. These findings stress the need to address social and institutional blind spots in femicide prevention, offering actionable insights to disrupt patterns of control before they escalate to lethal violence. |
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| ISSN: | 1756-0616 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100767 |
