In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, marking the ruthless assassination of the Mirabal Sisters in 1960. With the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the United Nations has called upon governments and nongovernmental organizations to raise awareness to the global problem of violence against women all around the world. Although efforts and events to raise public awareness to this global pandemic ought to be applauded, it is an unfortunate actuality that societies even need to designate such a day to campaign this human rights violation.Istanbul hosted the 2nd International Women and Justice Summit organized in conjunction with the Ministry of Family and Social Policy and the Women and Democracy Association (KADEM), the largest nongovernmental organization on women and democracy. The summit was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and First Lady Emine Erdoğan, and it brought together many international figures, ministers and representatives from academia and nongovernmental organizations from all over the world. With the slogan "Speak Up For Justice!" the summit intends to address various women's issues regarding employment, development, refugees, the role of women in peace processes and violence committed against women as well as to identify both theoretical and practical solutions to these problems.Of all the possible topics involving women's rights, violence and crimes committed against women tend to be the most sadistic and tortuous violations. Domestic homicide, which is the killing of an intimate partner or ex-partner, is also known in criminology as "intimate partner homicides." For the purpose of understanding the causes and situational contexts in which domestic homicides occur, it is crucial to ponder into intimate partner violence, in order to understand how the mind of a violent domestic abuser works and how such violence can escalate to a lethal act of homicide.The Home Office defines domestic abuse as "any incident or pattern of incidents controlling, coercive, threatening behavior, violence or abuse between those aged 16 and over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to: psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional." Despite the range of different forms of abuse this definition provides, domestic violence is a significantly underestimated and underreported crime, making it more difficult to tackle the problem and implement interventions before it is too late for the victims.According to the 2015 U.N. Women Report, one in every two female homicide victims was killed by their partner or a family member, while one in every 20 men were murdered in similar circumstances, thereby illustrating the extent of how domestic homicides have a gendered nature. Research into intimate partner homicides have actually shown a drop in violence committed against male victims, while the vast research on female victims murdered by their intimate partners in the past 20 years has remained stable. This number in a study undertaken in England and Wales has depicted that two women are victims to such horrendous homicides every week (Dobash & Dobash, 2015; Office of National Statistics, 2015), illustrating once again the frequency of such crimes.For the purpose of understanding and implementing strategies to prevent domestic homicide, governments and relevant institutional players need to understand the nature of domestic abuse by closely analyzing the dynamics of abusive relationships and the cycle of abuse. Power and coercive control are the two main facets of domestic abuse that victimizes women in domestic abuse cases. The perpetrators of these crimes use intimidation, isolation and control and eventually instill a sense of fear and anxiety within women, which affects them both psychologically and physically. It is this very same fear they experience that forces them to remain in the abusive relationships rather than leaving. Unfortunately, statistics have also proven that women who do separate from their husbands usually become victims of homicide for this very reason as "separation" or the "threat of separation" for the perpetrators becomes a key risk factor and "trigger" that leads to homicide.So why do male perpetrators murder or use violence against their partners? This question can be answered by analyzing the cognitions of perpetrators. A common response to this question provided by male perpetrators of intimate partner homicides is victim-blaming. These perpetrators shift the blame to the victims and defend themselves by externalizing the blame. On the other hand, male perpetrators who commit intimate partner violence display a different attitude to their crimes. These perpetrators have a general hostile attitude toward women in general and believe that physical or psychological violence and abuse toward women is justified and permissible. This is a cognitive problem of how these individuals process information in situational contexts. Research has proven that such cognitive biases, attitudes and beliefs develop at a young age through observational learning and deficient skills in social information processing that extend back to childhood experiences.esearch has also pinpointed the significance of emotions within men who are perpetrators of domestic abuse. Clinical caseworks on these types of offenders have proven a link between shame and anger in which men who feel humiliated resort to violence and in some cases, homicide. The key trigger to homicidal violence is their sense of feeling humiliated and thus, they resort to such malevolent behavior for the purposes of "saving face." Societal and cultural norms play a significant role in creating these attitudes. Men, in some cultures and societies are raised to hide their emotions as displaying them will portray them as weak. This instead encourages them to use violence in order to solve any problems they may encounter in their social lives.So what are some key risk factors for domestic homicides? According to statistics, in 80 percent of intimate partner homicide cases, the perpetrator of the crime had been consuming alcohol during the time of the crime, while two-thirds were already intoxicated and a quarter was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs. This finding is significant in terms of understanding the role of alcohol and drugs in influencing one's self-control. Other risk factors include past experiences in witnessing or being victimized in family violence, the type of relationship of the individuals - married or de facto relationships, the significant age difference between partners, sexual jealousy, separation, stalking behavior and personality disorders the person may be suffering from. Separation, or the threat of separation as a key risk factor in intimate partner homicides, is the most significant trigger that leads to lethal behavior in domestic violence.It is an unfortunate fact that the assessment of the level of danger and the possibility of homicide in domestic abuse cases is still very difficult. Case-specific analysis and risk assessments need to be implemented in a timely manner. The documentation of every single report on victim abuse and shared victim experiences can assist in identifying levels of risk and eventually taking action in protecting victims of abuse before it is too late. The implementation of early intervention strategies and cognitive based treatments for perpetrators of domestic violence is also crucial in the prevention of lethal actions. Most importantly, governments and nongovernmental organizations need to encourage women to speak up against domestic violence, to educate the community, raise public awareness of unacceptable attitudes toward women in society, implement mandatory reporting for suspicious cases of domestic abuse and to also ensure a safe haven for victims of abuse. All of these actions can play a crucial role in the prevention of domestic violence and to save lives before it is too late.