At the beginning, Thea * and Stefan are doing well. He woos her with care and material security. But then he isolates her, takes her cell phone and forces her to be only with him. He tells her what to do - if she refuses, he beats her. Thea shows Stefan and flees to the women's shelter. But he finds her, locks her up, rapes her. Only by chance Thea escapes her tormentor. "The man was so ill, I think he would have killed me too," she told the SPIEGEL last year. She's probably right.
For British criminologist Jane Monckton Smith, Thea's relationship followed a prototypical pattern. The scientist has designed an eight-phase risk-sharing model to help police and authorities tackle domestic violence earlier - and avoid killings.
An estimated 30,000 women were killed by their previous or current partners worldwide in 2017. In Germany it was 364. "The fewest victims are killed in the affect," says Monckton Smith. Their latest investigation concludes that the majority of the perpetrators kill on schedule. And almost everyone wanted one thing above all: control over the woman and the relationship.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: You have examined 372 cases from the United Kingdom in which women were killed by their partners. What insight has surprised you the most?
Monckton Smith : I was shocked to see how targeted the perpetrators were. All too often, femicides are interpreted as spontaneous, a so-called crime of passion. My research has shown the opposite: in the majority of cases, a considerable amount of effort was spent reflecting, planning and acting decisively.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: The term "crime out of passion" has a long history. Today one speaks of so-called affect acts, which can lead to mitigation of punishment.
Monckton Smith : In the context of partner violence, "Crimes of Passion" implies that the perpetrator was in some way pressured or provoked by the victim. But that's hardly the case. We have found that the compulsive desire of the offender to control the partner is at the beginning.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: According to your survey, more than 80 percent of murder victims in relationships are women. The perpetrators are mostly men. Is the control mania you describe a typically male behavior?
Monckton Smith : Women too can exercise control, but they're much less likely to kill anyone. There are a lot of men being controlled by their partner - but they are not killed.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: You see the addiction to control as the germ cell of the killings. Then a typist makes more sense than a victim typology, right?
Monckton Smith : Sure. If you encounter a person with control mania, then it is the problem, not the victim. We have found no evidence that a particular type of woman is at particular risk. It can meet anyone.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is there something that all perpetrators have in common?
Monckton Smith : Some perpetrators have a personality disorder or are very fixated on their partner. What they all feel is that they believe they have a claim to the relationship.
Monckton Smith: Eight Levels of Risk Relationship
Stage 1: Prehistory
The potential offender is biased, he has been stalking or domestic violence noticed or already committed violent offenses. He shows control behavior, is thin-skinned and belligerent.
Stage 2: Early Relationship
Fast familiarity and commitment. The couple is constantly together, neglecting other social relationships, moving into a shared flat, getting a baby early. Possession of ownership manifests itself linguistically: "You belong to me." "We'll be together forever." Early jealousy. Attempts to slow down or end the relationship are thwarted.
Stage 3: Control
Established relationship: control behavior, stalking, violence (pushing, pushing), sexual aggression, ownership, jealousy. Threats, even against children or pets. The perpetrator forces the partner to make everyday life according to his ideas. Keep away from the victim of family and friends. Drug and alcohol problems. Offender threatens to kill himself or his partner.
Stage 4: Murder triggers
Loss of control due to separation, fear of separation, impending separation. Financial problems, deteriorating mental or physical health of victims or perpetrators. An incident that arouses revenge against the victim. Dismissal, unemployment, retirement. Offender accuses victims of infidelity.
Stage 5: Escalation
Worrying behavior of the offender accumulates, becomes more serious. He tries to restore control. Tactics: requests, weeping, threats of violence, violence, stalking, persecution. Death or suicide threats. "I will not let you go." "If I can not have you, nobody should have you."
Stage 6: Change of heart
Final loss of control. Perpetrator suffers financial ruin or loses his reputation. His health is irreversibly damaged. He makes a last attempt to restore the relationship. Stalking. The victim does not respond to threats or is unable to do so. There is a new relationship in the life of the victim. Loss of status and change of mind of the perpetrator. He feels unfairly treated and seeks revenge. First thoughts of murder.
Stage 7: Murder Planning
The culprit behaves exceptionally. He reinforces the threats, stalks his victim further. He searches the Internet for murder types and weapons. Collect weapons. Try to isolate the victim.
Stage 8: Execution
Murder, extended suicide, murder staged as a suicide or accident, murder staged as a mercy killing (due to serious illness) - or as a failed sex game. The perpetrator practices victim blaming - he tries to portray himself as a victim, claiming to have acted in self-defense.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: You have defined eight stages of a prototypical risk relationship that can lead to the murder of a woman. Can you limit the individual phases in time?
Monckton Smith: No, that varies. Stage 2 is usually the shortest - this is the beginning of the relationship, which usually progresses unusually fast, with great commitment, love-shitting, ownership, early contracting, or pregnancies. By contrast, stage 3 can take a few weeks or even 50 years, depending on how long the control installed by the offender remains. As soon as she is in danger, Phase 4 begins.
SPIEGEL ONLINE : At what point do women most likely leave a violent relationship?
Monckton Smith : In stage 4. Some women quickly realize that they should be dominated, others - especially older - sometimes keep it very long in the control regime. A separation or the attempt of the victim to escape is always the point at which the loss of control on the offender begins - and thus a possible change of heart, which can end in murder.
SPIEGEL ONLINE : Your thesis is: murders for fear of loss of control are predictable, so you can prevent them. However, partnership violence lives from stealth and isolation. The police usually arrive very late in the day.
Monckton Smith : Yes, the police often appear only when violence has already been committed. And in many cases, it does not appear at all. It is therefore all the more important to focus on stalking. More than 90 percent of the killings were stalked in the run-up - this is an unmistakable warning sign of possible violence.
SPIEGEL ONLINE : Police and authorities have but little insight into the state of intimate relationships. Are your parameters ultimately only academic gimmicks without concrete applications?
Monckton Smith : I introduced my model to many experts. Especially policemen were very pleased because they could apply the stadiums immediately to their specific cases. The eight-step model brings structure into an otherwise very confusing problem. Social workers, if they are alert, can intervene earlier than the police, even at stage 3, when the control mechanisms in the relationship solidify. I also have great hope for probation officers, because they can detect dangerous developments in stage 2, the beginning of the relationship, for example, with offenders who are known for domestic violence.
SPIEGEL ONLINE : And what can the police do better?
Monckton Smith : She can exhaust the legal requirements, announce contact prohibitions or referrals. Above all, she is able to take a clear stand on the spot and make it clear to the suspect that he is being monitored and is threatened with criminal consequences.
SPIEGEL ONLINE : Does that work?
Monckton Smith : There are offenders who take back because they are afraid of prosecution. Others keep on going, even though the police are already active. They are full of anger and feel it is a huge injustice that someone wants to stop their relationship. For them, the separation means a loss of status, a presumption, a humiliation. Such people must be stopped by all means.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What happens if the statutory victim protection is missing - as in Russia, where in 2017 domestic violence was partially decriminalized?
Monckton Smith : Then it has devastating consequences. The legislator gives the perpetrators a carte blanche and tells them: Yes, you have every right to beat and control your wife. That makes the situation a hundred times worse for the women.
SPIEGEL ONLINE : In Germany, there is a law against violence and the offense of reenactment. In England and Wales, pathological control behavior since 2015 can be punished with up to five years in prison. Ireland and Scotland have followed suit.
Monckton Smith : Yes, we have criminalized compulsive control. The law is not about individual crimes such as deprivation of liberty or the withdrawal of money or passports - this is a pattern under which control over another person is exercised. And the sooner one recognizes this system of threat, humiliation and intimidation, the sooner one can intervene.
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