The Concentration of Intimate Partner Violence in Chicago Neighborhoods

Sara Bastomski, Yale University

A robust research tradition has shown that interpersonal violence between men clusters in specific urban neighborhoods and is associated with structural disadvantage. This research considers the possibility that such communities face a double burden of violence, both on the street and inside of homes. Using restricted data from the Chicago Police Department , I show that intimate partner homicides are spatially concentrated in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Specifically, 54% of all IP homicides committed between 1994 and 2011 took place in just 20% of Chicago’s neighborhoods. Further analyses confirm that the observed clustering is statistically significant, and that the highest rates of IP homicides consistently occur in the same disadvantaged neighborhoods. I also employ arrest data on domestic violence from 1999 to 2012 to demonstrate that IP homicides are spatially associated with nonfatal violence. My findings shed light on contextual factors that put women at risk of intimate partner violence.