Certain states have high intimate partner homicide rates - Congress Registration - Brief Article

AORN Journal, Jan, 2002

Researchers have discovered that southern and western states have the highest rates of intimate partner homicide among women, according to an Oct 12, 2001, news release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Researchers from the CDC made this discovery by analyzing data collected from 1981 to 1998 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

This is the first time FBI data have been used in this manner. Researchers found that legal spouses committed approximately one-half of the intimate partner homicides of both men and women. They also discovered that the risk for this phenomenon increases with the population of the community where the couple lives. Intimate partner homicide rates in cities with more than 250,000 people were two to three times higher than rates in cities with less than 10,000 people.

Death rates were 1.6 times higher among women than men during the time studied, and death rates among African Americans were 4.6 times higher than that of Caucasians. Females ages 20 to 39 and males ages 30 to 49 had the highest death rate. From 1981 to 1998, intimate partner homicide rates decreased steadily. An overall reduction of 47.2% was seen, with rates for males decreasing 67.8% and rates for females decreasing 30.1%.

Southern and Western States Log Highest Rates of Intimate Partner Homicide (news release, Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oct 12, 2001) http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r011011.htm (accessed 12 Oct 2001).