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

For Release:   Thursday, September 25, 2003

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 In 2001, the most recent data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report, firearms were the most common weapon used by males to murder females (846 of 1,720 or 49 percent).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.”

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.