Family and Intimate Partner Violence Homicide Surveillance

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sur·veil·lance - the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data regarding health events of interest for purposes of intervention and the creation of prevention strategies.

Collecting accurate information on family and intimate partner homicide (FIP) is essential for the overall health and well-being of a community. These data provide policy makers, community groups, and the general public information needed to understand the magnitude of homicide in their communities and the circumstances surrounding these events. In summary, these data provide stakeholders with the ability to track changes, identify trends over time, identify at-risk populations, and develop evidence-based interventions.

As mentioned above, data are important for understanding a community’s functioning and needs; however, before 1999, collecting data and understanding the degree to which FIP homicide impacted Virginia was difficult. Virginia lacked two important things, a standard criteria for identifying FIP cases, and a commonly accepted method to input and analyze data.

In 1999 the Virginia General Assembly enacted Virginia Code §32.1-283.3 and took a critical step toward our increased understanding of family and intimate partner violence in Virginia. This Code section authorized the development of local family and domestic violence fatality review teams and created a state-wide surveillance system to collect data on deaths involving family and/or intimate partners.