"More than 1,800 women were murdered by men in 2016 and the most common weapon used was a gun, according to the new Violence Policy Center (VPC) study When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2016 Homicide Data.
For the past 21 years, the VPC has released this annual report in advance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. This year, its release comes as the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is scheduled to expire on September 30. A bill to reauthorize VAWA has been introduced in the House.
The study uses 2016 data, the most recent year for which information is available. The study covers homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender, and uses data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Report.
The study found that nationwide, 93 percent of women killed by men were murdered by someone they knew and that the most common weapon used was a gun.
'The study shows that women are most likely to be murdered by a man they know with a gun, and that all too often that man is an intimate partner. The study highlights the importance of renewing the Violence Against Women Act, which would expand resources devoted to keeping guns out of the hands of abusers,' states VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand."
Read the full article and access the report here. For more information on this topic, see Intimate Partner Homicide Prevention.
