NCJ Number
243817
Date Published
September 2013
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study investigated homicides committed against females by single male offenders.
Abstract
This study, conducted by the Violence Policy Center, examined the rate of homicides committed against females by single male offenders. Key findings from the study include the following: in 2011, 1,707 females were murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents; in 94 percent of these incidents, the female victim was murdered by a male they knew; for victims who knew their offenders, 61 percent were wives or intimate acquaintances of their killers; 264 of the women were shot and killed by either their husband or an intimate acquaintance during the course of an argument; nationwide, more female homicides were committed with a firearm (51 percent) compared to any other weapon; and of the homicides committed with a firearm, 73 percent were committed with a handgun. Data for this study were obtained from incident reports submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Supplementary Homicide Report. The study analyzed only those instances involving one female homicide victim and one male offender. This scenario was chosen by the researchers because it is most often the one used to promote gun ownership among women. Additional information obtained from the analyses includes State rankings for incidents involving one female victim and one male offender, age and race of female homicide victims, female homicide victims and circumstances, and the high rate of these incidents involving Black females. The final section of the report presents information on current laws that can help protect women from domestic abusers. Tables and appendixes