Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jul 21;66(28):741-746.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6628a1.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Homicides of Adult Women and the Role of Intimate Partner Violence - United States, 2003-2014

Emiko Petrosky  1 , Janet M Blair  1 , Carter J Betz  1 , Katherine A Fowler  1 , Shane P D Jack  1 , Bridget H Lyons  1
Affiliations

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Homicides of Adult Women and the Role of Intimate Partner Violence - United States, 2003-2014

Emiko Petrosky et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

Homicide is one of the leading causes of death for women aged ≤44 years.* In 2015, homicide caused the death of 3,519 girls and women in the United States. Rates of female homicide vary by race/ethnicity (1), and nearly half of victims are killed by a current or former male intimate partner (2). To inform homicide and intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention efforts, CDC analyzed homicide data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) among 10,018 women aged ≥18 years in 18 states during 2003-2014. The frequency of homicide by race/ethnicity and precipitating circumstances of homicides associated with and without IPV were examined. Non-Hispanic black and American Indian/Alaska Native women experienced the highest rates of homicide (4.4 and 4.3 per 100,000 population, respectively). Over half of all homicides (55.3%) were IPV-related; 11.2% of victims of IPV-related homicide experienced some form of violence in the month preceding their deaths, and argument and jealousy were common precipitating circumstances. Targeted IPV prevention programs for populations at disproportionate risk and enhanced access to intervention services for persons experiencing IPV are needed to reduce homicides among women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: No conflicts of interest were reported.

References

    1. Logan JE, Smith SG, Stevens MR. Homicides—United States, 1999–2007. MMWR Suppl 2011;60:67–70. - PubMed
    1. Catalano S, Smith E, Snyder H, Rand M. Selected findings: female victims of violence. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics; 2009. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvv.pdf
    1. Blair JM, Fowler KA, Jack SPD, Crosby AE. The National Violent Death Reporting System: overview and future directions. Inj Prev 2016;22(Suppl 1):i6–11. 10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041819 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Center for Health Statistics. Healthy people 2010: general data issues. Age adjustment. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2011. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hpdata2010/hp2010_general_data_issues.pdf
    1. Niolon PH, Kearns M, Dills J, et al. Preventing intimate partner violence across the lifespan: a technical package of programs, policies and practices. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipv-technicalpackages.pdf