Violence Policy Center Releases Annual Report When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2002 Homicide Data

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

WASHINGTON, DC—The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2002 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 In 2002, the most recent data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report, firearms were the most common weapon used by males to murder females (928 of 1,733 or 54 percent). Of these, 73 percent (679 of 928) were committed with handguns. Alaska ranks first in the nation in the rate of women killed by men. Ranked behind Alaska are: Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, South Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, North Carolina, and Alabama. Nationally the rate was 1.37 per 100,000.

Study author Marty Langley 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	Alaska	15	4.84
2	Louisiana	67	2.91
3	New Mexico	25	2.66
4	Nevada	27	2.54
5	Wyoming	6	2.42
6	South Carolina	49	2.32
7	Tennessee	67	2.26
8	Delaware	9	2.17
9	North Carolina	88	2.08
10	Alabama	42	1.82

 

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.