ASSESSING
DANGEROUSNESS
IN MEN WHO ABUSE
WOMEN
(Based on sections of Why Does He Do
That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men)
A
considerable body of research has accumulated about predicting dangerousness in
men who batter. The work of Jacquelyn Campbell and of Neil Websdale has been
particularly important and insightful in this regard.
Abuser
programs, other professionals, and abused women themselves have the need to
assess the potential that a particular abuser has to kill or dangerously harm
his current or former partner and any children that are involved. A
considerable number of risk factors have emerged that have predictive value in
making such an assessment.
Danger
assessment for men who abuse women is still far from being an exact science,
however. There are documented killings by men whose previous profile did not
make them appear to have the potential for such severe or cruel violence.
Therefore all abused women should be encouraged to work with a trained advocate
on creating a safety plan. Women should also be encouraged to take seriously
intuitions that they have about the dangerousness of a partner or former
partner, even if he does not exhibit a large number of the risk factors listed
below.
Factors
that should be taken particularly seriously include:
á
The
woman has a strong ÒgutÓ sense that the man could kill her or her children, or
could carry out a serious and dangerous assault against any of them or against
himself.
á
He is extremely jealous and possessive.
This characteristic becomes even more worrisome when he appears to be
obsessive, constantly keeping her at the center of his thoughts and appearing
to be unable to conceive of life without her. He has, for example, made
statements such as, ÒIf I canÕt have you, nobody will.Ó
á
He has a history of severe or very
frequent violence toward her, or toward other individuals such as past
partners.
á
He follows her, monitors her
whereabouts, uses high-tech means to keep tabs on her, or stalks her in other
ways. He knows where she lives and works, knows names and addresses of her
friend or relatives, or is in very familiar with her daily routines.
á
She is taking steps to end the
relationship, or has already done so.
á
He was violent to her during a
pregnancy.
á
There are stepchildren involved.
á
He has threatened to kill her or to hurt
her severely, has strangled her, or has threatened her with a weapon (including
making verbal reference to using a weapon, even if he did not actually brandish
it). He has threatened to kill the children or the whole family.
á
He has access to weapons and/or he is
familiar with their use.
á
He is depressed, suicidal, or shows
signs of not caring what happens to him. He has, for example, threatened to
kill himself if she leaves him.
á
He is unemployed.
á
He isnÕt close to anyone, and no current
relationships with friends or relatives are important to him.
á
He has a significant criminal history
and/or he has a history of using violence or threatening violence against other
people.
á
He abuses alcohol or drugs heavily,
especially if his habits involve daily or nearly daily intoxication.
á
He has been violent to children.
á
He has killed or in other ways been
violent to pets, or has used other terror tactics.
á
He uses pornography heavily and/or has a
history or perpetrating sexual violence or degradation against his partner or
others.
á
He has exhibited extreme behaviors when
his current partner or past partners have made attempts to leave him.
The
current state of knowledge does not make it possible to create a formula from
the above factors to create low, moderate, and high-risk categories of risk. A
particularly extreme presentation in even one of the above categories can be a
basis for serious concern. Professionals, abused women, and others attempting
to use this list of factors, need to apply their findings with common sense and
intuition. When an abusive man appears particularly dangerous based on the
above factors or for other reasons, professionals involved with him should
inform the abused woman as soon as possible (more on this below). They should
also inform appropriate police departments, any mental health or child
protection professionals involved with the man, and anyone else who might be in
a position to prevent a dangerous assault from taking place. Abuser programs
and other professionals working directly with them an should inform him that
they are concerned that he may commit a serious or lethal assault, and should
try to persuade him to commit himself to a psychiatric hospital, substance
abuse detox, or other facility that could contain him and persuade him not to
become violent.
An
abused woman should of course be informed when the man is showing a worrisome
pattern of the above factors, or extreme responses in even one or a few factors.
The woman should be encouraged to participate in strategic safety planning. A
strategic safety plan can include such elements as:
á
Planning
different escape routes from her house
á
Hiding
spare car keys and important documents (birth certificates, health cards, bank
cards) in places where she could grab them and leave quickly
á
Varying
her daily routine, including the routes she typically takes to get from one
place to another
á
Setting code words with friends, and
with her children, which indicate that there is an emergency, and plan how they
are to respond if she says the code word
á
Opening a secret bank account
á
Informing people at her work of the
potential danger
á
Informing friends and relatives of the
potential danger
á
Involving her children in creating a
safety plan (see my article ÒSafety Planning With Children of Abused WomenÓ on
this website)
á
Staying away strictly from drugs or
alcohol herself to make sure that her judgment is never impaired, and seeking
substance abuse treatment for herself if necessary
á
Advising the local police department of
the risk to her, including any past threats or violence, and asking what
special services or protections might be available to her
These
are just a few examples of the numerous safety strategies she can put into
place with the help of an abuse specialist to increase her safety. She can call
an abuse hotline and develop a safety plan without even providing her name or
telephone number, ensuring her complete privacy. If she can go to an abused
women's program and meet with someone face to face, all the better. (For more
information on safety planning, see the book Safety Planning With Battered
Women by Eleanor
Lyons, Jill Davies, and Diane Monti-Catania, from Sage Publications).
If
she is frightened of her abusive partner it is important for her to make a
safety plan even if she does not plan to leave him at this point. If she senses that he has a
capacity for frightening violence, she should start planning now for how she will keep herself and
her children safe should a dangerous situation arise in the future. Some
psychologically abused women feel confident that their partners would never
escalate to violence or threats. However, my experience is that most abusive
men - though not all - do become physically frightening sooner or later, even
if they never carry through with using violence. It makes sense for every
abused woman to spend some time considering how she will respond if the
unexpected happens.