In-depth review of intimate partner homicide against women in Spain

Homicide is the most extreme sign of violence. It generates social anxiety when occurs in personal relationships, where usually women are six times more likely of being murdered. Although Spain has an intimate partner homicide rate against women below the European and the world averages and has policies to reduce all forms of gender-based violence, homicides continue to happen. So, to avoid further deaths, it is necessary to study the phenomenon extensively. Since 1990, homicide review teams in the family context have been developed in different countries. These teams analyze this kind of deaths in a multidisciplinary way in order to determine the common factors they present and the changes that should be implemented to avoid future violent deaths. This paper reviews the characteristics of the international teams, and also describes the origin, composition, and the operational structure of the recently created National Team for In-Depth Homicide Review of Gender Violence (EHVdG) in Spain.