Summary
Domestic violence and homicide can be reduced when victims seek effective and timely assistance or friends, family and community professionals offer support. One important factor in help-seeking is a victim’s intuitive sense of fear. Several factors related to this fear were examined including the presence of children in the home, perpetrator’s controlling behaviours, and mental health and/or addiction concerns of victims of DH. A retrospective case analysis was performed using domestic homicide case data reviewed by the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee (DVDRC) in Ontario, Canada. Victims who displayed an intuitive sense of fear were compared to victims who did not display an intuitive sense of fear. A major finding of the current study was when victims experienced an intuitive sense of fear, they disclosed the abuse to a friend more often than victims who did not experience an intuitive sense of fear. In addition, victims who were fearful of their perpetrators were exposed to higher numbers of risk factors than victims who did not possess an intuitive sense of fear. These victims would disclose their abuse to co-workers and neighbours more often than victims who did not experience an intuitive sense of fear. This study demonstrates the complexity of victim’s intuitive sense of fear, and their informal and formal help-seeking behaviours while highlighting the powerful role of presence of children, perpetrator’s controlling behaviours, and victim mental health and/or addiction concerns can have on victim’s intuitive sense of fear. The implications for public awareness and professional training are outlined.