Introduction

Understanding and responding to domestic violence victimisation has long been a contested issue for feminist sociologists, legal theorists, criminologists and victimologists alike. A large part of the discussion has focused on enacting legal protections and redress for victims, which, in turn, has required that dominant myths and stereotypes be challenged in order for victims to be deemed worthy of criminal justice recognition and intervention in the first place. Socio-political rhetoric around domestic violence and abuse has traditionally posed one fundamental question: ‘Why didn't she leave?’. Much is rendered evident in this short sentence: that the onus is on the victim to act; that the victim is perceived to be female; that the victim had the opportunity and ability to leave; that the victim had somewhere to go; and that the victim is the only one who would (or should) be leaving. Rarely do we hear sentiments querying why the perpetrator acted as they did, or continued in this vein. Perhaps the most worrying element of this question is the implication that by leaving, the victim would be in a better – safer – position. Decades of feminist research has indicated otherwise: for many women, leaving a violent partner increases their vulnerability and may result in the perpetrator's violence towards them becoming fatal (Lees, 2000; Humphries and Thiara, 2002; Krug et al, 2002).

This was certainly the case for Clare Wood, who was murdered by her ex-partner, George Appleton, in 2009. Like a growing number of modern couples, Clare had met George online; they dated for about 18 months before she ended the relationship on account of his serial unfaithfulness. George had also been abusive towards Clare on several occasions while they were together. As is the case with many domestically abusive situations, this violence escalated following their split. During the short time in which they were separated, Clare contacted Greater Manchester Police at least five times with allegations that indicated George's increasingly violent behaviour. She reported a variety of instances, from criminal damage and harassment, through to sexual assault and making threats to kill. In the final, fatal incident, George strangled Clare and set her body alight before taking his own life.