What Were They Thinking? Men Who Murder an Intimate Partner

The focus is on cognitions of men who murder an intimate partner and includes thinking prior to and after the murder. Based on the Murder in Britain Study, the qualitative accounts of various professionals included in the casefiles of 104 men convicted of murdering a woman partner are used to examine beliefs about intimate relationships, orientations toward violence and previous violence to the victim, as well as subsequent denials, rationalizations, and justifications. We conclude that these and other cognitions are important elements of intimate partner murder and must be challenged and changed in efforts to eliminate nonlethal abuse and murder. Keywords intimate partner murder, orientations, cognitions Violence against women is now recognized as a worldwide problem that affects millions of women. The problem was initially “discovered ” by feminist activists in Britain and the United States in the 1970s and various remedies and interventions were proposed. Most focused on the plight and needs of victims and a few were directed at the violent behavio