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When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 1997 Homicide Data

Females Murdered by Males in Single Victim/Single Offender Incidents

Understanding the Statistics

This analysis of female homicide victims in America is limited to cases involving one female victim and one male offender. Supplemental data on age and race of victim, the type of weapon used, the relationship of victim to offender, and the circumstances of the murder are provided for each state as follows:


Rates

Rates of females killed by males in single victim/single offender incidents by state were computed using reported incidents by state and female population estimates for 1997 from the U.S. Bureau of the Census.


Ranking

States were ranked by their female homicide rates. Rates were rounded to the second decimal place.


Age

This section notes how many female homicide victims were less than 18 years old and how many were 65 years of age or older.


Race

This section identifies the race of female victims. Classification of ethnicity was either Hispanic or Non-Hispanic. Although combination of race and ethnicity was possible, all women designated as being of Hispanic ethnicity were designated as being of white race.


Most Common Weapons

This section records the number of females killed by firearms, and specifically handguns. It also lists the most common weapons�other than firearms�used by males to kill females. Unless noted, a weapon was identified in every case.


Victim/Offender Relationship

This section lists the number of females killed by known offenders and the number killed by strangers. This section also enumerates the number of victims identified as wives or intimate acquaintances (common-law wives, ex-wives, and girlfriends) of the offenders, as well as the number of these intimates shot and killed with firearms in general and handguns in particular.


Circumstance

This section indicates the number of cases in which the homicide was related to the commission of any other felony. This section also provides the number of cases that involved arguments between the victim and offender.


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All contents � 1999 Violence Policy Center