State Ranked No. 7 in Women Killed By Men

The Violence Policy Center released a report on Tuesday that ranks South Carolina as No. 7 in the nation for states with high rates of murder of women by men.

This is a slight up-tick from the previous report in 2010 that listed the state as No. 8. Nevada, with a rate of 2.70 per 100,000, ranked first for the second year in a row. South Carolina is at 1.79 per 100,000.

The annual report "When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2009 Homicide Data" 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 The study uses the most recent data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report and is released each year to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.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 Nevada and in with South Carolina were: Alabama at No. 2 with a rate of 2.64 per 100,000; Louisiana at No. 3 with a rate of 1.99 per 100,000; Arizona at No. 4 with a rate of 1.92 per 100,000; Tennessee at No. 5 with a rate of 1.83 per 100,000; Georgia at No. 6 with a rate of 1.80 per 100,000; South Dakota and Hawaii tied at No. 8 with a rate of 1.72 per 100,000; and, Missouri at No. 10 with a rate of 1.70 per 100,000.

Nationally, the rate of women killed by men in single victim/single offender instances was 1.25 per 100,000.

“Violence against women too often escalates to homicide. Prevention of such violence deserves serious and sustained attention from law enforcement officials and policymakers alike," VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand said.

Nationwide, 1,818 females were murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents in 2009. 

Where weapon use could be determined, firearms were the most common weapon used by males to murder females (861 of 1,654 homicides or 52 percent). Of these, 69 percent (593 of 861) were committed with handguns.

In cases where the victim to offender relationship could be identified, 93 percent of female victims (1,579 out of 1,693) were murdered by someone they knew. Of these, 63 percent (989 out of 1,579) were wives or intimate acquaintances of their killers. Nearly 14 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.