Between 40 and 50 percent of female homicide victims are killed by intimate partners, and intimate partner violence comprises 15 percent of all violent crime. Traditional approaches to intimate partner violence have been ineffective at controlling the most dangerous abusers, and have burdened victims by asking that they leave the relationship and their support networks, relocate themselves and their children, and take criminal justice steps that could put them and their families at further risk. Developed by the National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC), the Intimate Partner Violence Intervention (IPVI) is an offender-focused, victim-centered approach that addresses the most serious intimate partner violence. The strategy aims to reduce harm to victims; intervene early in cycles of victimization; and shift the burden of preventing intimate partner violence from victims to a partnership of criminal justice actors, advocates, service providers, and community figures.
Intimate partner violence is often thought of as fundamentally different from other types of violence, but a considerable body of evidence shows that, as with other serious violence, the gravest intimate partner violence with respect to the most vulnerable victims tends to be driven by “chronic” offenders who commit a wide variety of crimes at relatively high rates. Research also demonstrates that intimate partner violence offenders who do not fit this profile can be deterred by relatively low-level sanctions; IPVI aims to create meaningful deterrence for the most chronic and dangerous offenders as well.
