Nevada Ranks #1 in Rate of Women Murdered by Men According to VPC Study Released Annually for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October

WASHINGTON, DC--Nevada, with a rate of 2.96 per 100,000, ranked first in the nation in the rate of women killed by men according to the new Violence Policy Center (VPC) report When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2008 Homicide Data. The annual VPC report details national and state-by-state information on female homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender. The study uses the most recent data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report and is released each year to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.

Ranked behind Nevada were: Vermont at 2 with a rate of 2.54 per 100,000; Alabama at 3 with a rate of 2.07 per 100,000; North Carolina at 4 with a rate of 2.05 per 100,000; Tennessee at 5 with a rate of 1.97 per 100,000; Texas at 6 with a rate of 1.72 per 100,000; Arkansas at 7 (tie) with a rate of 1.71 per 100,000; Missouri at 7 (tie) with a rate of 1.71 per 100,000; South Carolina at 9 with a rate of 1.69 per 100,000; and, Georgia at 10 with a rate of 1.66 per 100,000. Nationally, the rate of women killed by men in single victim/single offender instances was 1.26 per 100,000.

VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand states, “These findings alarmingly demonstrate how domestic violence can escalate to homicide. More resources need to be made available to protect women and prevent such tragedies.”

Nationwide, 1,817 females were murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents in 2008. Where weapon use could be determined, firearms were the most common weapon used by males to murder females (858 of 1,662 homicides or 52 percent). Of these, 71 percent (608 of 858) were committed with handguns. In cases where the victim to offender relationship could be identified, 92 percent of female victims (1,564 out of 1,694) were murdered by someone they knew. Of these, 64 percent (997 out of 1,564) were wives or intimate acquaintances of their killers. Twelve times as many females were murdered by a male they knew than were killed by male strangers. In 86 percent of all incidents where the circumstances could be determined, the homicides were not related to the commission of any other felony, such as rape or robbery.

The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.