1. What Can Be Done to Prevent Domestic Violence?
Jenn Oxborrow, LCSW
Utah Department of Human Services, DCFS
Domestic Violence Program Administrator

2. Current rates and trends in Utah Stand out concerns:
1 in 3 Utah women will experience IPV in her lifetime; nearly 1 in 5 will experience IPV THIS YEAR. CDC
Since 2000, DV-related homicides accounted for at least 42% of all adult homicides in Utah VIPP
Each month, at least 1 woman is murdered by her intimate partner in the Utah; 3 DV- related suicides per month. VIPP

3. How does DV impact our children in Utah?
Approximately 80 of Utah’s children witness their mother murdered, almost killed, or are first to find her every year in Utah.
Less than 60% of those children received any counseling & many only one time
National Death Reporting System study (Logan et al ’08; Smith, Fowler, Niolon ‘14).

4. Who are we trying to serve?
Female victims of domestic violence in Utah experience TWICE the rate of:
Mental illness (29.8% vs. 13.7%)
Substance abuse (9.8% vs. 4.3%)
Poor physical health outcomes
than women in Utah who have
not experienced intimate partner violence (VIPP)

5. “Why does she stay/go back?”
63% of homeless women are victims of domestic violence
Among homeless families, 40% are homeless because of domestic violence
In Utah, DV shelters report approximately 3000 unmet requests for help each year due to limited capacity
70% of IPV homicide victims were killed within the first 72 hours following departure from an abusive partner
National Alliance to End Homelessness

6. Coordinating our Response In Utah to Prevent DV Lethality
SAFETY--Standardized Danger Assessment
STABILITY--Rapid Re-housing Programs

7. SAFETY: Campbell Danger Assessment
Standardized set of evidence-based questions; screens for most lethal aspects of Intimate Partner Violence
Assesses for the level of lethality risk
Indicates the necessary safety planning and supportive services
Ensures most at risk victims get priority at shelters
Raises awareness in survivor and first responders
Maryland, New York, WOODS CROSS: reduced number of DV homicides, risk to LE, and other crime

8. STABILITY: Rapid Re-housing Housing Prevents DV and Many Other Risks SHARE Project Outcomes (Safe Housing Assistance with Rent Evaluation, Volunteers of America); Quasi‐experimental longitudinal study funded by CDC
SAFETY IMPROVED: Number of women reporting extreme danger dropped from 237 to 24.
IMPROVED HEALTH: decreased alcohol/drug use, improved health and mental health; 25% fewer met criterion for clinical depression; 22% fewer had symptoms of PTSD
STABILITY IMPROVED: Nearly 80% fewer moves. Number of days in emergency housing dropped by 78%. Missed fewer days of work. Greater job stability, improved income.
CHILDREN RECOVERED: school attendance improved, more likely to be maintaining their school performance, exhibited fewer behavior problems

9. Can the CDA and RRH prevent DV deaths in Utah?

10. Percentage of domestic violence-related and non-domestic violence-related adult homicides, Utah, (DOH VIPP)

11. References
The United States Bureau of Justice Intimate Partner Violence: Attributes of Victimization, 1993–
Utah Department of Health Violence and Injury Prevention Program
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA, OAS. 2009
Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. No More Secrets – Utah’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Report, Available at:
National Alliance to End Homelessness, 1.13 Providing Rapid Re-Housing for Survivors of Domestic Violence 2014 ( providing-rapid-re-housing-for-survivors-of-domestic-violence)
Black MC et al. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): Summary Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Available at:
Catalano S. Special Report--Intimate partner violence, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ ; 2012.