Children Who Experience Intimate Partner Femicide: Their Responses and Needs
Published by: Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, Dorothy J. Lennig, BS, JD
Since its creation in 2007, the Baltimore City Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team (DVFRT) has studied numerous cases of domestic violence-related fatalities and near fatalities in an effort to reduce domestic violence fatalities through inter-disciplinary training, community-based prevention education, and data-driven recommendations for legislation and public policy.
Through this deliberative process, it became clear that many children who witnessed their parent’s murder developed emotional and behavioral problems that left untreated, sometimes resulted in juvenile and adult criminal conduct.
A critical finding of the DVFRT emerged: There was an enormous absence of crisis, intermediate and long-term services for children who witnessed the murder of one or both parents as a result of domestic violence. Thereafter, a protocol was constructed to assess the trauma experienced by these children and to devise appropriate treatment and/or counseling services for them.
In this webinar faculty describe the deliberative process of Baltimore City’s DVFRT and the resulting protocol and services for child survivors of intimate partner homicide.