ToolsCalculators
Danger Assessment for domestic abuse
Risk factors for lethal intimate-partner violence.
Danger Assessment for domestic abuse
Physical violence has increased in frequency or severity over the past year
Partner owns a gun
You have left after living together in the past year
Partner is unemployed
Partner has ever used or threatened you with a weapon
Partner has threatened to kill you
You believe partner is capable of killing you
You have been beaten while pregnant
Partner is violently and constantly jealous
Partner controls most or all of your daily activities
Partner follows, spies on, or leaves threatening messages
Partner has threatened or tried to commit suicide
Partner has ever tried to choke (strangle) you
Partner uses illicit drugs
Partner is an alcoholic or problem drinker
Partner has threatened to harm your children
There is a child in the home who is not the partner's biological child
You have avoided being killed by ending or trying to end the relationship
Partner has threatened to kill themselves if you leave
Partner is violent toward others outside the home
Result0 of 20 risk factors
No listed lethality risk factors endorsed; continue routine safety inquiry.
When to use
- Screening for risk of severe or lethal violence in women experiencing intimate-partner abuse.
Formula
Count of affirmative responses to 20 lethality risk factors (0-20). More affirmative answers indicate higher danger.
Pearls and pitfalls
- The validated instrument uses a weighted score and calendar of past-year severity, interpreted by a trained advocate; this simple factor count is a screening aid, not the formal weighted category.
- Prior strangulation, a gun in the home, and threats to kill are especially strong predictors of lethality.