The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact: Sally Martinelli,(202) 822-8200 x104,smartinelli@vpc.org

Louisiana Ranks #1 in Rate of Women Murdered by Men According to VPC Study Released Annually for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October

WASHINGTON

Louisiana,
with a rate of 2.53 per 100,000, ranked first in the nation in the rate
of women killed by men according to the new Violence Policy Center (VPC)
report When Men Murder
Women: An Analysis of 2007 Homicide Data
. The annual VPC report
details national and state-by-state information on female homicides involving
one female murder victim and one male offender. The study uses the most
recent data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's unpublished
Supplementary Homicide Report and is released each year to coincide with
Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.

Ranked behind Louisiana
were: Alaska at 2 with a rate of 2.44 per 100,000; Wyoming at 3 with a
rate of 2.33 per 100,000; Arkansas at 4 with a rate of 2.29 per 100,000;
Nevada at 5 with a rate of 2.23 per 100,000; Alabama at 6 with a rate
of 2.22 per 100,000; New Mexico at 7 with a rate of 2.21 per 100,000;
South Carolina at 8 with a rate of 2.04 per 100,000; Oklahoma at 9 with
a rate of 2.03 per 100,000; and, Arizona at 10 with a rate of 1.92 per
100,000. Nationally, the rate of women killed by men in single victim/single
offender instances was 1.30 per 100,000.

VPC Legislative Director
Kristen Rand states, "These findings alarmingly demonstrate how domestic
violence can escalate to homicide. More resources need to be made available
to protect women and prevent such tragedies."

Nationwide, 1,865
females were murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents
in 2007. Where weapon use could be determined, firearms were the most
common weapon used by males to murder females (847 of 1,657 homicides
or 51 percent). Of these, 76 percent (640 of 847) were committed with
handguns. In cases where the victim to offender relationship could be
identified, 91 percent of female victims (1,587 out of 1,743) were murdered
by someone they knew. Of these, 62 percent (990 out of 1,587) were wives
or intimate acquaintances of their killers. More than 10 times as many
females were murdered by a male they knew than were killed by male strangers.
In 88 percent of all incidents where the circumstances could be determined,
the homicides were not related to the commission of any other felony,
such as rape or robbery.

The Violence Policy Center (VPC) works to stop gun death and injury through research, education, advocacy, and collaboration. Founded in 1988 by Executive Director Josh Sugarmann, a native of Newtown, Connecticut, the VPC informs the public about the impact of gun violence on their daily lives, exposes the profit-driven marketing and lobbying activities of the firearms industry and gun lobby, offers unique technical expertise to policymakers, organizations, and advocates on the federal, state, and local levels, and works for policy changes that save lives. The VPC has a long and proven record of policy successes on the federal, state, and local levels, leading the National Rifle Association to acknowledge us as "the most effective ... anti-gun rabble-rouser in Washington."