Violence Policy Center Releases When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 1999 Homicide Data

For Release:  Tuesday, October 30, 2001

African-American Women Three Times More Likely To Be Murdered Than White Women

WASHINGTON, DC – The Violence Policy Center (VPC) has released When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 1999 Homicide Data, an annual report detailing female homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender. The report provides a state-by-state ranking of these female homicide rates and reveals that African American women are murdered at a rate more than three times higher than white women. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“African-American women continue to suffer disproportionately from gun violence in America today,” states Health Policy Analyst and study author, Karen Brock, MPH. “With ready access to handguns, intimate acquaintances pose a much greater danger to women than the mystery assailant the gun industry frequently uses to sell their deadly products. In fact, 14 times as many black females were murdered by a man they knew rather than by a stranger. All too often, women purchase handguns in a misguided effort to protect themselves. Medical studies and government data consistently show that when a firearm is brought into the home, it is far more likely to result in a homicide, suicide, or unintentional death than to be used to kill in self-defense.”

The top 10 states with national ranking including all races and ethnicities: Nevada, Alaska, Louisiana, Arizona, South Carolina, Vermont, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, and North Carolina.

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