Top 10 Most Dangerous States for Women
Considering a move? Think twice if you are female, single, and headed toward any of the states below. According to data recently released by the Violence Policy Center, these are the states that have the highest murder rates of women by men.
Number of Females Murdered by Males in Single Victim/Single Offender Homicides and Rates by State in 2011, Ranked by Rate
Rank State Murders Rate per 100,000
1 South Carolina 61 2.54
2 Alaska 7 2.01
3 Oklahoma 38 1.99
4 Delaware 9 1.92
5 Arizona 60 1.84
6 Tennessee 59 1.80
7 Idaho 14 1.77
8 West Virginia 16 1.70
9 Louisiana 39 1.67
10 New Mexico 17 1.62
What’s being used to murder us? Take a guess.
A 2002 study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that although the United States represented only 32 percent of the female population among 25 high-income countries, it accounted for 84 percent of all female firearm homicides.
The study’s lead author, Dr. David Hemenway, concluded that “the difference in female homicide victimization rates between the U.S. and these other industrialized nations is very large and is closely tied to levels of gun ownership. The relationship cannot be explained by differences in urbanization or income inequality.”
Yep. “Guns don’t kill people …” etc. They kill women.
Rose Marie Berger, senior associate editor of Sojourners magazine, is interim program director for the Sojourners Women and Girls campaign.
Image: Violence against women illustration, Ron Zmiri / Shutterstock.com
