Constructing Fatality Review: A Policy Analysis of the Emergence of Domestic Homicide Reviews in England and Wales

Rowlands, James

Abstract

In England and Wales, Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) examine domestic abuse-related deaths to identify lessons to be learned. However, their emergence as a policy initiative has been little considered. To address this gap, a thematic discourse analysis of policy documents to 2011 was undertaken, examining the justification for, and conceptualization of, DHRs before their implementation. It is argued that DHRs were constructed as a taken-for-granted good, through which multi-agency partners would generate learning while the (gendered) subject was silenced. Attending to aspirations, contradictions, and tensions in the emergence of DHRs has implications for their understanding and operationalization in the present.

Citation

Rowlands, J. (2022). Constructing Fatality Review: A Policy Analysis of the Emergence of Domestic Homicide Reviews in England and Wales. Violence Against Women, 28(15-16), 3657-3680. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012211068064

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 26, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 23, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Deposit Date: Sep 3, 2024
• Journal: Violence Against Women
• Print ISSN: 1077-8012
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-8448
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 15-16
• Pages: 3657-3680
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012211068064
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2783160
• Additional Information: This article is Open Access at: https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012211068064