W O M E N 07/21/2017 11:33 

EDT | Updated 07/23/2017 14:33 EDT

Who Is Killing American Women? Their Husbands And Boyfriends,

CDC Confirms.
 most female homicides involve domestic
A new report finds that
violence.

By Melissa Jeltsen, HuffPost US


LUKATDB VIA GETTY IMAGES

Women are at greatest risk of being killed by their partners; not strangers. 

Most murders of American women involve domestic violence, according to a report

released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

The CDC analyzed data from 18 states, finding 10,018 female homicides between 2003
and 2014. Over half ― 55 percent ― of cases where circumstances were known involved
domestic violence. In 93 percent of those cases, victims were killed by current or former
intimate partners: boyfriends, husbands, and lovers. The other 7 percent of victims were
female friends, family members, first responders and bystanders who were killed during a
domestic incident.

While the facts seem shocking at face value, they’re not surprising or new.

It is already well-established that women in the U.S. are far more likely to be killed by an
intimate partner than by any other group of people. As HuffPost previously reported: It’s
not strangers, friends or acquaintances who pose the biggest threat to women’s lives. It’s
the men they date and marry. 
Around three women a day are murdered by an intimate partner, and in many cases,
children and others are also killed. The majority of mass shootings ― defined as four or
more people fatally shot, not including the perpetrator ― involve domestic violence.

The CDC found that firearms were used in 54 percent of all female homicides. Limiting
 to a domestic violence protective order could serve as a
access to guns for those subject
preventative measure to help reduce deaths, it said.


There’s compelling evidence

to back up that suggestion: One study found that states that
restrict access to firearms for people under domestic violence protective orders had a 25

percent reduction in intimate partner gun homicides.


Given the risks that guns pose in domestic violence situations, many states have recently
 for abusers to buy or own guns. The National Rifle
passed laws making it harder
Association, however, has been pushing a different strategy ― arming victims ― which

many experts warn will end in more bloodshed.  

The report noted that young women of color were disproportionately affected. One third
of female homicide victims were under 30, and a larger proportion of black and Hispanic
victims were in this group. Black women had the highest rate of dying by homicide in
general.  

The CDC recommended the use of “lethality risk assessments”, which are tools used by
first responders, advocates and law enforcement to identify victims at the highest risk for
future violence. Many experts believe there are important warning signs ― for instance, if
the victim has been strangled, experienced death threats, and if her abuser has access to
a gun ― that can occur before a situation turns lethal.  

According to the report, one in 10 victims of homicides involving domestic abuse had
experienced some form of violence in the month before their death, suggesting an
opportunity for intervention. 

“These assessments might be used to facilitate immediate safety planning and to connect
women with other services, such as crisis intervention and counseling, housing, medical
and legal advocacy, and access to other community resources,” the CDC report read.

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Melissa Jeltsen covers domestic violence and issues related to women’s health, safety
and security. Tips? Feedback? Send an email or follow her on Twitter.

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