R & B: a conversation between a researcher and a battered woman about domestic violence fatality review.

The conversation that unfolds takes place at a restaurant between an imaginary researcher, R, and an imaginary battered woman, B. The researcher embodies some of the traits of researchers in general and particularly those who stray into the arena of domestic violence fatality review. The battered woman lives with her three teenage children, works as a secretary at a university, and has just completed her master’s degree in Women’s Studies. R and B met 13 years ago at a shelter, where R interviewed B about B’s life and the domestic violence she had endured. Now, 13 years later, the two meet on the street, lock eyes, and agree to talk over dinner. By way of background, fatality review refers to the deliberative process whereby communities and their various domestic violence agencies identify homicides and suicides traceable to domestic violence and suggest preventive interventions. The past decade has witnessed the phenomenal growth of domestic violence fatality review teams. In 1990, only a handful of states evidenced such review activity. At the close of 2004, approximately 32 states have adopted fatality reviews. Of these, at least half have passed enabling legislation to guide the process and protect the confidentiality of the deliberations and findings. A number of issues permeate the debate about the desirability and worth of