Victim-focussed studies of intimate partner femicide: A critique of methodological challenges and limitations in current research

Abstract

Developing strategies to prevent intimate partner femicide (IPF) remains a pressing policy challenge across nations. However, most research to date focuses on perpetrators of IPF rather than victims, which creates gaps in understanding of IPF. A contributor to the limited amount of victim-focussed knowledge is that – for sadly obvious reasons – IPF victims cannot directly provide information about their own experiences and circumstances. This challenge, and methodological approaches researchers have used in an attempt to overcome it, has not been given consideration in its own right. The current study examines dominant approaches used in the study of IPF, and discusses strengths and limitations of each approach. Implications and potential ways forward for enhancing methodological approaches to the study of IPF victimisation are identified, such as adapting ‘psychological autopsy’ methods commonly used in suicide research to the study of IPF.