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Femicide: An Overview of Major Findings

NCJ Number
179203
Author(s)
Jenny Mouzos
Date Published
1999
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper provides an overview of the major findings of a larger study of the intentional killing of adult women in Australia.
Abstract
The study analyzed data from the National Homicide Monitoring Program, which is based on all cases of homicide identified by Australian State and Territory police services. The data set analyzed contains 2,821 homicide incidents that occurred between July 1, 1989 and June 30, 1998. These incidents resulted in the deaths of 3,045 victims perpetrated by 3,314 identified offenders. Of these 3,045 homicide victims, 1,125 (37 percent) were female, and 1,913 (63 percent) were male; gender was unknown in seven cases. On average, 125 females of all ages are murdered each year in Australia, with the greatest risk of homicide victimization for females between the ages of 21 and 23 years old. Overwhelmingly, it is men who kill women; however, the likelihood of a woman being killed by a male stranger is slight; each year in Australia fewer than 14 women are killed by a man they did not know. Nearly three in five femicides, defined as the killing of women aged 15 years and over, occur between intimate partners, and nearly all of these result from a domestic altercation. When a woman is killed, she is most likely to be killed in a private residence. 4 tables, 1 figure, and 14 references