Intimate partner homicide, immigration and citizenship : evidence from Norway 1990–2012

Intimate partner homicides (IPH) are fatal violent attacks perpetrated
by intimate partners. Immigrants are overrepresented in the IPH
statistics as both perpetrators and victims. If explanatory factors for
this are not studied, immigrants may be stigmatized. The present study
investigates whether IPHs committed by immigrant perpetrators have
characteristics that differentiate them from IPHs committed by the
native majority of IPH perpetrators. All IPHs in Norway from 1990
to 2012 (N = 177) were included. Quantitative data were extracted
through structured investigation of court documents. Information
concerning risk factors (previous intimate partner violence and
sociodemographic, contextual and clinical factors) was drawn from
three validated risk assessment instruments. Univariate analysis and
multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. When
adjusted for other group differences, very few differences remained
in the multivariate models. IPHs perpetrated by immigrants differed
from cases with native perpetrators on modus operandi and ascribed
motives and resulted in longer sentences than IPHs with native
perpetrators. This study indicates considerable similarities in IPHs
perpetrated by immigrants and natives. Findings indicating that IPHs
by immigrants were perceived differently in the justice system need
further investigation.
Keywords: intimate partner homicide, femicide, ethnicity,
immigration, risk assessment, intimate partner violence