Every year, thousands of people in abusive relationships reach out for help—but many do so too late. What if there were a simple set of questions that could predict when someone is at risk of being killed by their partner? That’s exactly what the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) was designed to do. When law enforcement officers ask these 11 research-backed questions at the scene of a domestic violence call, lives can be saved before it’s too late.
How It Might Happen:
Imagine this: A woman calls 999 after her partner throws a chair across the room during an argument. The officer arrives, takes her aside, and gently asks 11 questions. She hesitates, then answers yes to three of them—including one about whether she thinks he might try to kill her. The officer immediately picks up the phone and calls a domestic violence hotline. Within minutes, she’s talking to an advocate who can help her plan a safe exit.
How it works
When someone calls police after a domestic violence incident, an officer who responds asks the victim 11 questions:
- Has your partner ever used a weapon against you or threatened you with a weapon?
- Has he or she ever threatened to kill you or your children?
- Do you think he or she might try to kill you?
- Does your partner have a gun or can he or she get one easily?
- Has he or she ever tried to choke you?
- Is your partner violently or constantly jealous or does he or she control most of your daily activities?
- Have you left your partner or separated from them after living together or being married?
- Is he or she unemployed?
- Has your partner ever tried to kill him/herself?
- Do you have a child that he or she knows is not theirs?
- Does your partner follow or spy on you or leave threatening messages?
The questions are divided into two sections. If a victim answers yes to any of the first three questions, the police officer calls a local, 24-hour domestic violence hotline immediately.
The same type of referral happens if a victim answers yes to four of the remaining eight questions.
If a victim’s answers don’t trigger a referral, but an officer feels uneasy about the situation, the officer can still call a domestic violence agency.
The protocol is designed to connect victims in dangerous situations with an advocate, said Sara Krall, homicide prevention program director with End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin.
Another benefit of the program is consistency. How police respond to domestic violence calls can vary from county to county or even officer to officer. Some send incident reports to domestic violence agencies the next day. Others have officers give victims a brochure or business card for a domestic violence organization.
“The goal of this program is to really get victims connected before they have a chance to kind of second-guess their decision to involve law enforcement,” Krall said.
How it was created
The questions on the survey were developed using research conducted by Dr. Jaquelyn Campbell, a professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.
Campbell and colleagues found that women were 20 times more likely to be killed by their partner if their partner had threatened to use a weapon on them or had hurt them with a weapon; nearly 15 times more likely to be killed if their partner had threatened to kill them; and nearly 10 times more likely to be killed if their partner had ever tried to choke them.
Based on her findings, Campbell developed the Danger Assessment, an in-depth questionnaire that determines how lethal a domestic violence situation is.
The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence developed the LAP based on the Danger Assessment. The tool lets women know when the relationship they’re in has reached a dangerous point, said Darald Hanusa, a psychotherapist at the Midwest Domestic Violence Resource Centre in Madison and a senior lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work.
Campbell’s research found that women could predict whether their partners would continue to be abusive, but they could not predict whether they were at risk of being killed. In fact, approximately half of victims who were killed by their partners or whose partners attempted to kill them did not accurately predict the threat of lethal violence.
“So for instance, what Jackie Campbell says, is for a woman who’s in an abusive relationship … with a man who is hyper controlling and there is a weapon in the house, she’s at a 40-fold increased risk of being murdered. Well, that’s important information for her to know, and where is she going to get it? Unless she talks with an advocate, unless she talks with law enforcement, there’s no way that she’s going to get it,” Hanusa said.
Another statistic that informed the LAP: In the year before a victim was killed, abusers were arrested in 44 percent of cases and almost one-third of victims contacted police. However, only 4 percent of victims had used a domestic violence hotline or shelter in the year before they died.
The LAP is meant to bridge that gap and get more victims connected with domestic abuse services in their communities, Krall said.
Does it help?
A 2014 study done by a group of researchers, including Campbell, examined the LAP’s effectiveness in Oklahoma over a six-year period.
They found that women who were given the LAP used more protective strategies immediately and in the months that followed than women who were not given the survey. Protective strategies included looking for services at a domestic violence agency and removing or hiding their partners’ weapons, as well as applying for and receiving protection orders and going to a place where their partners could not find them.
Furthermore, women who received the LAP intervention “experienced significantly less frequency and severity of violence than women in the comparison group” during follow-up interviews.
What You Can Do
Whether you're a police officer, a social worker, or just someone who wants to help, knowing about the LAP matters. Domestic violence doesn’t always look the way we expect. It can be quiet, subtle, and deadly.
- Share this post so others know what the LAP is.
- Support your local domestic violence agency.
- If you or someone you know is in danger, contact a domestic violence hotline.
Knowledge can save lives. These 11 questions prove it.
Need Support? You’re Not Alone
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse in
Local Support Services in Reading
Berkshire Women's Aid (BWA)
- Monday: 9am – 7pm
- Tuesday: 9am – 5pm
- Wednesday: 9am – 5pm
- Thursday: 9am – 7pm
- Friday: 9am – 5pm
- Saturday: 9:30am – 12:30pm
- Sunday & Bank Holidays: Closed
Alana House – Women’s Community Project
National Helplines
National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge)
In an Emergency
- Call 999 – if you are in immediate danger
- Silent Solution: If you can’t speak, call 999 and press 55 when prompted to alert police silently
- Non-Emergency Police Number: 101
You are not alone. Support is available, and help is only a call or message away.
Women’s Safety Is Not a Women’s Issue. It Is a Human Issue.
In 2021, researcher Melissa Haun published a global review of women’s safety, drawing on data from organisations such as the World Health Organization, UN Women, and RAINN. More research and information can be found here: https://www.safetydetectives.com/blog/womens-safety-research/
One statistic stands out immediately: nearly one in three women globally will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. That is not a marginal issue. That is a structural reality. As a counsellor working with men and families, I believe we cannot talk about mental health, relationships, fatherhood, or community wellbeing without talking about safety. Safety is the ground on which everything else is built.
The research attempted to rank countries based on reported crimes against women and the strength of legal protections in place. Crimes examined included murder, rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Legal frameworks included laws around marital rape, domestic abuse, workplace harassment, inheritance rights, and abortion access. Yet the findings revealed something complex. Countries with low reported crime rates are not necessarily safer. In some nations, low reporting may reflect fear, stigma, or even punishment for speaking up. In certain contexts, women who report rape risk imprisonment or violence themselves. So the absence of data does not equal the absence of harm. As therapists, we understand this dynamic well. Silence in a client does not mean nothing happened. Sometimes it means it was never safe enough to tell.
One case that brought global attention to women’s safety was the murder of Sarah Everard in London. Her death sparked a collective conversation about the everyday precautions women take. The simple phrase “text me when you get home” became symbolic of a deeper cultural truth. Many women move through the world calculating risk constantly. The research survey accompanying the study found that while over half of women felt safe walking alone during the day, more than eighty percent felt unsafe at night in at least some places. This gap between daylight and darkness is not just physical. It is psychological. It shapes nervous systems, relationships, and the way women experience public space.
Legal protections also vary dramatically across the world. Countries such as Sweden, Canada, and others have extensive laws on paper protecting women from violence and discrimination. Yet enforcement remains the critical question. In contrast, in countries such as Afghanistan under Taliban control, women have faced severe restrictions on mobility, employment, and education. Reports from Human Rights Watch and UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan describe environments where reporting abuse can be dangerous and where systemic barriers trap women in violent situations. When women lack economic independence, education, or legal standing, their ability to leave abusive relationships diminishes significantly. The International Criminal Court has recently moved to address systemic persecution of women in Afghanistan, marking a historic moment in recognising gender based oppression as an international crime.
From a counselling perspective, one of the most important findings in the research relates to economic insecurity. A large study by the World Health Organization across ten countries found that financial dependence is one of the main reasons women remain in abusive relationships. This mirrors what we see in therapy. Safety is not just about physical protection. It is about access to resources, income, community, and belief. When someone feels trapped economically, their nervous system remains in survival mode. Over time, this leads to anxiety, depression, trauma responses, and intergenerational impact on children.
It is also important to say clearly that violence against women is not solely a women’s issue. It is relational. It involves men, families, legal systems, and cultural narratives. In my practice, I work primarily with boys and men. That includes helping men examine beliefs about entitlement, control, shame, and anger. Prevention does not begin in courtrooms. It begins in how boys are socialised, how men process rejection, how conflict is handled, and how power is understood in relationships. If we want safer communities, we must be willing to have honest conversations about masculinity, accountability, and emotional literacy.
The research also highlighted something powerful. Countries with higher reporting rates are not automatically more dangerous. Sometimes they are places where women feel able to report. That distinction matters. In therapy, disclosure is often a sign of trust and safety, not dysfunction. A system that allows reporting, protects whistleblowers, and enforces consequences is a system moving toward accountability. The goal is not to hide the numbers. The goal is to create conditions where harm is addressed openly and effectively.
So where do we go from here. Education remains key. Schools, families, workplaces, and community organisations must challenge victim blaming and normalised harassment. Legal systems must close loopholes around marital rape and domestic abuse. Police and investigators need specialised training in handling gender based violence. Economic empowerment and equal pay are not abstract feminist talking points. They are safety mechanisms.
As a counselling practice, we recognise that safety is foundational to mental health. If Creating Emotional Safety in Relationships, families, and communities is something you want to explore, therapy offers a space to examine patterns, beliefs, and behaviours without judgement. Real change begins with awareness. And awareness begins with the courage to look at uncomfortable truths.
No one should have to live in fear of walking home at night. Safety is not a privilege. It is a basic human right.
Cassim