Firearm trauma has remained a major cause of injury related deaths in the United States, with more than 39,000 firearm fatalities estimated in 2017 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). In addition, for the annual 95,000 patients who survive a firearm injury (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018), recovery is often complex and can require medical, legal, and psychological intervention (Greenspan & Kellermann, 2002). A wealth of data exists on managing firearm trauma, but less focus has been given to the bullet itself.

Both Canada and the U.S. experience a dramatic overrepresentation of certain racial groups in the criminal justice system. For example, in the United States, Black persons comprise 37.9% of the federally incarcerated population (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2016), but only 13.3% of the general population (United States Census Bureau, 2016). Native Americans are also overrepresented, comprising 2.1% of the federal prison population (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2016) and 1.2% of the general population (United States Census Bureau, 2016).

Studies examining the deaf population and IPV note deaf victims experience diverse types of IPV, including communication or technological abuse (Mastrocinque et al., 2017; Southworth et al., 2007), physical abuse (Mastrocinque et al., 2017), emotional abuse (Pollard et al., 2014), sexual abuse (Mastrocinque et al., 2017; Pollard et al., 2014), and financial abuse (Mastrocinque et al., 2017).

Recent estimates suggest that 16.2% of women and 5.2% of men living in the U.S. have been stalked at some point in their lives (Black et al., 2011). These prevalence rates, relative to the overall population size, indicate that approximately 20 million women and 6 million men have experienced some form of lifetime stalking victimization.

Most sexual assaults that are reported to the criminal justice system are not prosecuted, in fact only 3 -26% result in conviction (Lonsway & Archambault, 2012). Additionally, the vast majority of reported sexual assaults are never referred by the police to prosecutors for arrest warrants and charges (Campbell et al., 2014; Spohn & Tellis, 2012). Researchers and policymakers have expressed concern that this long-standing pattern allows offenders to commit additional sexual assaults.