NCJ Number
151625
Date Published
1994
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Homicide reports submitted by local police agencies across the country for the years 1976-92 involving 36,000 female victims ages 18-34 were analyzed to determine patterns and trends in lethal domestic violence directed against women.
Abstract
This group was chosen for two reasons: (1) because the majority of domestic homicides cluster among young adults and (2) to control for demographic shifts in the population. The analysis revealed that the victim was the murderer's wife or ex-wife, or was otherwise intimately involved in 34 percent of the homicides against women in this age group and for 48 percent of those cases in which the victim-offender relationship could be determined. The vast majority of these homicides were committed with firearms. The rate of domestic homicide among whites has remained fairly stable since 1976, but domestic homicide among blacks has dropped sharply. Results indicate the need for continuing diligence in efforts against domestic violence rather than an attitude that the problem has been solved. Tables and figures