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

For Release:   Tuesday, October 30, 2001

Hispanic Women Suffer from a Higher Female Homicide Rate than the National Average

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. Although complete national homicide information analyzed by ethnicity is rarely available, the Violence Policy Center examined the five states for which race and ethnicity data is available for comparison in single female victim/single male offender homicides: Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Commenting on the five-state analysis, Health Policy Analyst and study author, Karen Brock, MPH, states, “Hispanic women suffer from a higher female homicide rate than the national average. Nearly 17 times as many Hispanic females were murdered by males they knew rather than by strangers. 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. 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 are: 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.