Violence Policy Center Releases Annual Report When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2001 Homicide Data

Study, Released for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Ranks South Carolina #1 in Rate of Women Murdered by Men

WASHINGTON, DC—The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2001 Homicide Data. This annual report, which details national and state-by-state information on female homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender, illustrates the unique role firearms play in female homicide. The study is being released to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. In 2001, the most recent data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report, firearms were the most common weapon used by males to murder females (846 of 1,720 or 49 percent). Of these, 76 percent (642 of 846) were committed with handguns. South Carolina ranked first in the nation in the rate of women killed by men. Ranked behind South Carolina were: Alabama, Nevada, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, and Oklahoma.

VPC Communications Coordinator Jennifer Friedman states, "These numbers should serve as a wake-up call to the states with the highest rates of female homicide. In identifying solutions to domestic violence, the role firearms play must be addressed."

Ranking	State	Number of Homicides	Homicide Rate per 100,000
1	South Carolina	64	3.15
2	Alabama	71	3.11
3	Nevada	27	2.93
4	Louisiana	55	2.42
5	Tennessee	69	2.41
6	Alaska	7	2.37
7	Arkansas	30	2.26
8	Arizona	54	2.19
9	Georgia	87	2.14
10	Oklahoma	34	1.97

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.