Domestic/Intimate Partner Related Homicides
Your state may have a Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board.
For the state of Oklahoma, the DVFRB is made up of 20 board members from the Oklahoma Judicial System, Law Enforcement, District Attorney Council, the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office and Victim Advocates. According to state statute, the Board is also required to have one Native Victim Advocate and one Native DV survivor on the board as well.
The purpose of the DVFRB is to identify gaps in services and to make recommended changes to improve community response by reviewing select domestic homicide cases.
According to the statute, cases are referred by any of the board members to be considered for review.
Currently, in Oklahoma, the Native Alliance Against Violence has one representative on the DVFRB while Muscogee Creek Nation Domestic Violence Program has one representative in place filling both Native seats for the DVFRB.
With that in mind, in advocating for justice for a loved one lost to Domestic/Intimate Partner violence in Oklahoma, if you experience a gap in services, there is a possibility that you may be able to request that a Native Alliance Against Violence advocate consider submitting your loved one's case to the DVFRB for review.
The existence of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board is not common knowledge. The Oklahoma Statute under which the DVFRB was created can be found on NAAV website Statute page but not on tribal DV programs. We are only aware of it's existence as a result of our own research of Oklahoma DV statutes.
It should be noted that, according to NAAV, cases are referred to the DVFRB only if the cause of death is listed as homicide.
This is excludes cases in which, the cause of death is listed as Undetermined though there may be questionable circumstances surrounding the death.
Another challenge that we have experienced in trying to navigate the system regarding our loved one's case, is we have found that while tribal domestic violence programs assist survivors of DV, they currently do not offer program assistance specific to DV homicide victim's families.
There over 200 DV Fatality Review Boards Nationwide
Also please see the Hidden Homicides Information in the Resource Section.