For Release: Thursday, October 26, 2000
South Carolina Ranks #1 in Rate of Women Murdered by Men
The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today released When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 1998 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 female homicide rates. South Carolina ranked first in the rate of women killed by men.
“This study dispels the gun lobby myth that the greatest threat to a woman is an attack by a stranger and that having a handgun protects them from death and injury,” Karen Brock, health policy analyst at the VPC, said today. “Handguns don’t save lives, they take lives. The truth is that the greatest threat to a woman is the men she knows best: husbands, boyfriends, and other intimate acquaintances with ready access to handguns.”
In addition to South Carolina, the top 10 states include: Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, Wyoming, Maine, Oklahoma, Nevada, Alabama, and Colorado.
| Ranking | State | Number of Homicides | Homicide Rate per 100,000 |
| 1 | South Carolina | 62 | 3.12 |
| 2 | Louisiana | 61 | 2.69 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 35 | 2.67 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 100 | 2.57 |
| 5 | Wyoming | 6 | 2.51 |
| 6 | Maine | 15 | 2.35 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 37 | 2.16 |
| 8 | Nevada | 18 | 2.10 |
| 9 | Alabama | 47 | 2.08 |
| 10 | Colorado | 41 | 2.05 |
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.
