New Everytown Report Finds Access to a Firearm is the Centerpiece in the Dual Tragedies of Intimate Partner Homicide-Suicides

A Perpetrator Kills An Intimate Partner Then Dies By Suicide More Than Once A Day On Average In The United States; Of These Incidents, 93 Percent Involved A Gun

NEW YORK – Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund today released a new report which finds that access to a gun is the centerpiece of the dual tragedies of intimate partner homicide-suicides, which occur more than once a day on average in the United States. 

To uplift and document the circumstances and effects of these incidents, Everytown’s research team conducted focus groups with 43 survivors of intimate partner homicide-suicide (IPHS), defined as any tragedy where a current or former intimate partner kills their partner, children, or others and then attempts or dies by suicide. The resulting new report outlines how victims, survivors, and perpetrators of IPHS were navigating layers of risk and protective factors leading up to these tragedies, as well as recommendations for action that can create opportunities for intervention and prevention.  

Focus group participants bravely shed light on how the accessibility of firearms frequently led to the deadly escalation of dangerous intimate relationships. What’s more, researchers found the dual stigmas of intimate partner violence and suicide served as barriers to survivors’ willingness to seek help and navigate support and the legal system. 

“Domestic violence and gun violence are inextricably linked. Research shows that 90% of gun suicide attempts end in death, and access to a gun makes it five times more likely that an abusive male perpetrator will kill his female partner,” said Tannuja Rozario, Associate Director of Research at Everytown for Gun Safety. “With this report, we hope to honor the survivors who broke their silence and gave voice to the experiences of the many lives forever changed by the dual tragedies of homicide-suicide. One of the best ways to do that is by raising awareness about how these devastating tragedies can be prevented – which includes disarming abusers.” 

“This report shines a light on a forgotten yet preventable part of the gun violence crisis. It’s easy to underestimate the ways in which a gun intensifies relationships where violence is a norm. But familicide and intimate partner violence is not a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s the reality of stories like mine: sustained emotional and physical abuse, families fleeing to safety, abusers gaining easy access to firearms, and loved ones being shot and killed — sometimes, in the front yard of their grandmother’s home like my nieces and sister-in-law were,” said Doreen Dodgen-Magee, a Moms Demand Action volunteer and Senior Fellow with the Everytown Survivor Network. “What breaks my heart the most is knowing that mine is just one experience out of many represented in this research. As my family’s story shows, this kind of violence is everywhere.”

On average, a dual-tragedy occurs where a perpetrator kills an intimate partner, and then dies by suicide themself more than once per day in the United States. Of these incidents, 93% involved a gun. Key findings from our focus groups found:

• All focus group survivors of IPHS identified one or more of these 11 common risk factors: access to a firearm; previous abuse in the relationship such as verbal, emotional, and physical abuse; threats against children and family member; history of traumatic events; suicidal behaviors; divorce or separation; jealousy; stalking; abuse through technology; substance misuse; and/or social isolation.
• One in four IPHS perpetrators had prior suicidal behaviors such as suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. 
• In nearly one in three IPHS incidents, the gun used was not securely stored and was readily accessible.
• Survivors stated that nearly 25 percent of the perpetrators were prohibited by law from possessing a firearm due to reasons including being under a domestic violence restraining order, having been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor domestic violence crime, or having certain mental health histories.
• All adult survivors of attempted homicide-suicide experienced trauma and psychological symptoms such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviors, and substance misuse. 
• Children were witnesses in 43 percent of the IPHS with a firearm, and were killed in 16 percent of these incidents. As a result, they experienced immediate and long-term impacts such as suicidal ideation, self-harm, academic challenges, and PTSD.  

Many survivors in the focus groups revealed that, prior to the incident, offenders threatened family members and the victim, stating that they would use a firearm for IPHS. In response to these threats, family members took various actions, including engaging with the legal system by contacting their local police department to remove access to a gun, obtaining restraining orders, and seeking support from lawyers. However, survivors and their families faced a number of challenges in the form of difficulty accessing legal interventions and the judiciary and law enforcements’ failure to enforce laws. These challenges ultimately enabled abusers to continue having access to guns, leading to devastating effects. 

Research shows that laws intended to disarm abusers work, and are critical to the safety of survivors. But laws intending to disarm abusers do not implement themselves, and failure to enforce them can have devastating consequences for survivors of domestic violence. The moment a survivor seeks legal assistance is often a time of heightened risk, making it even more crucial that laws to remove firearms from homes with domestic violence are effectively implemented. Information on effective implementation of these laws is here. 

Today’s report concludes with a series of recommendations for action that can create opportunities for awareness, intervention, and prevention. They include education on the 11 risk factors for IPHS; implementing policies that create time and space between a person experiencing a crisis and their firearm can prevent a moment of despair from becoming an irreversible tragedy; timely intervention through DVROs and ERPOs; screening for suicide-related behaviors of respondent in DVRO petitions; and disarming abusers once they are prohibited and ensuring the effective implementation of laws designed to disarm domestic abusers. 

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233), available 24/7, for confidential assistance from a trained advocate, or text START to 88788 from anywhere in the U.S.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org/chat to chat with a counselor from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress anywhere in the US.