Black Women Face a Greater Risk of Domestic Violence.

by Staff October 25, 2013 13 Comments News Opinion Relationships Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) The high toll gun violence exacts on black males is all too well known. Less known is the fact that black women also face a disproportionate risk of lethal violence.

That’s what we found in a new study released by my organization, the Violence Policy Center, for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Using data from the FBI’s unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report, we found that black women are murdered by men at a rate more than two and a half times higher than white women.

In 2011, the most recent year for which such data is available, black females were murdered by males at a rate of 2.61 per 100,000 in single victim/single offender incidents. For white women, the rate was 0.99 per 100,000.

To understand these numbers, here are some important facts to keep in mind. First, the primary risk of violence does not come from strangers. Ninety-four percent of black women were murdered by someone they knew (a proportion that is equally high for white women).

And the vast majority of homicides of black females were not related to any other felony crime. Most often, they were killed in the course of an argument. In cases where the circumstances could be identified, 87 percent were not related to the commission of any other felony.

If not strangers, then who are the killers? At least half of the murders were a result of domestic violence. Among the black female victims who knew their offenders, 52 percent were wives, common-law wives, ex-wives, or girlfriends. Also, 93 percent of the homicides were intra-racial.

Gun violence plays a predominant role in homicides among black women. When the murder weapon could be identified, 51 percent of black female victims were shot and killed with a gun. Within that group, 82 percent were shot and killed with a handgun.

That’s why women tempted to buy a gun for their self-protection should know that guns aren’t the answer to domestic violence. In fact, several studies have found that having a gun in the home actually increases a woman’s chance of being murdered. For African Americans as well as other women, guns are used not to save lives but to take them.

We should not sit back and accept a society where black women face a higher chance of getting killed. Women should be aware of resources that are available to help them escape domestic violence situations. And we simply cannot wait any longer before we pass effective laws to stop our national epidemic of gun violence.

Written By Josh Sugarmann

Official website; http://www.twitter.com/VPCinfo

13 Comments

Marque-Anthony says:

February 10, 2015 at 3:31 am

Our people really have to learn to look at both sides of the coin

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Marque-Anthony says:

February 10, 2015 at 2:18 am

I wish someone would tell the WHOLE STORY. The same statistics that show over a million domestic violence victims as women also show that 837,000 men are victims of domestic violence at the hands of their partner each year, but that is never quoted. Check the FBI stats or the stats from the Justice Department Bureau of Justice Statistics. Furthermore, factor in the percentage of men who don’t report it because of embarassment and the numbers are closer to even than you think.

The fact of the matter is that NOBODY SHOULD HIT ANYBODY. Men are no less valuable than women and vice versa. But there is a double standard and I have the research to prove it. Women hit men and we are told to walk away. But if men hit women, women are told to call the police. Everyone tore down Ray Rice for knocking out his then fiance, and he should not have done that. Yes he should have been the bigger person, but there is more to it than than. If you look at the entire video clip, you will see that she slapped him before they got on the elevator, he hit her BACK once they got on the elevator, she came at him to fight, he stepped back, punched her and she hit her head on the back rail of the elevator. Let’s be honest here. NOBODY SHOULD HIT ANYBODY.

If you are a female and you are not concerned that you make get hit back, why should the man be concerned for you?

Even many of the women’s rights groups (and I fully support women’s rights and equality) are really man-hating groups of bitter feminist women from the Can’t Get A Man – Can’t Keep A Man” Club.

I challenge any of you to email me at brainstormonline@yahoo.com and request the other side of the statistics. And for those of you who say “but the man is stronger”, I say that depends on what the woman hits him with. She could easily do just as much damage as he could. Plus stronger is not the issue, keeping your hands to yourself instead of abusing someone is the issue.

p.s. And no I do not hit women, I do not hit anybody. Fair is fair and right is right.

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Godknows says:

October 29, 2013 at 10:29 am

What’s missing from this report is that according to the Homicide Trends in the United States stats (table 7, p.12) whites are more likely (80.5%) to use POISON as their lethal weapon of choice to murder other whites, including poisoning their spouses are girlfriends.

Homicide Type, by Race
Table 7 (page 12)
http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf

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Anne says:

October 28, 2013 at 7:13 pm

@toomanygrandkids:

I have seen exactly what you are talking about, where women allow their abusers back after police officers have been summoned. But there ARE cases where domestic violence is not taken seriously enough by some law enforcement officers. That indifference can be the result of simply not valuing black folks or as the result of too many cases where women take their abusers back. And women who think being beaten definitely have low self-esteem. Why else would anyone allow herself to be a punching bag? As I’ve said in another post, abusers are not always readily obvious, regardless of what socioeconomic status they are. A lot of them worm their way into women’s lives with sweet words and gifts. Then, they turn from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde when they are certain they have these women. Sometimes the abuse is immediate, while at other times, it gradually escalates from subtle emotional abuse to outright physical abuse. I did read somewhere a long time ago that black women are more likely to be killed as a result of domestic violence than any other group of women. That addiction to “bad boys” is unhealthy because they have nothing to offer but instant gratification. On the other hand, some abusers are much slicker and therefore, harder to detect–sometimes when it’s too late.

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toomanygrandkids says:

October 28, 2013 at 6:13 pm

@Anne…In most cases, police officers respond to many domestic situations where the woman ALLOWS her abuser back into the house the same night. So when these officers keep responding to the same situation among the same people its more like they know what the outcome will be: abused female takes back her abusive partner. Some women feel as though if she doesn’t get hit on, beat up, or cussed out her man doesn’t love her. Abuse equals love. Of course, those of us with good sense know that isn’t true.

Yes, there are middle class and wealthy perps. They’re cases are on the crime channel and detective programs. But there are also many cases that don’t make television, the local papers, or the internet.

@akosua…Realman2’s comments do not indicate that he can’t/doesn’t have a woman nor that he’s less of a man, IMO.

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akosua says:

October 28, 2013 at 10:49 am

REALMAN2 is obvious upset that he is not man enough to get a black woman.

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so true says:

October 27, 2013 at 7:26 pm

@Realman2 far too many have wasted more than 15 years of life and destroyed generations to be with these bad boys.

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Realman2 says:

October 27, 2013 at 4:54 pm

Re: toomanygrandkids

Black women, especially black women, create many of these disasters by worshipping these Hyper-alpha males who are bent on destroying their own people and communities. I have known one called college educated black woman who tolerated the violence from their criminal boyfriend to the point she was almost beaten to death by him. Once she finally left this guy she ended up picking new ex-con boyfriend and started the cycle all over again. All women no matter their race tend to want a bad boy when their young for a little while, but black women take this to an extreme. Some of them have wasted up to 15 years of their lives doing this.

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Anne says:

October 27, 2013 at 11:33 am

It needs to be stated that domestic abuse is not only at the hands of
“worthless thugs and bums,” but also at the hands of middle class and wealthy perpetrators. There have been too many incidents of men who exude charm and consideration during courtship, showering women with gifts and abundant attention. Then, after they feel secure that they’ve “got” these women, they start showing their true colors by being controlling. Some huge red flags are squelching any attempt at a woman’s independence such as improving her education or seeking good job opportunities, isolating her from her family and other loved ones, constant criticism, and demanding to be in charge of everything. Some of these red flags show themselves during courtship, while others only become obvious after marriage or the establishment of a committed non-marital relationship. If any of these become obvious during courtship, the best thing is to make a clean break. If possible, it’s best to break it off at the very first sign of any of these. The situations of abused women show that they might as well be alone for all the emotional support they get from such relationships.

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toomanygrandkids says:

October 26, 2013 at 3:35 pm

@Realman2…thats a true statement.

Not only do these women hang out and lust after thugs and bums, but they’ll remain in relationships with them for years. I know of women who’ll even protect these low life dudes.

Several years ago, a black woman shot and killed her estranged husband. She took legal action and placed restraining orders against him and he still continued to harass her. There came a point and time when he obeyed an order but wanted to see her. He had the nerve to sign a complaint against her just to see her in court. The night she killed him, he had broke into her home. She awoke to him punching her in the face. Her weapon was close by and she pulled the trigger. She had told him that if he came anywhere near her, she’d shoot him. Obviously, he didn’t believe her. I believe she did the right thing. She had no choice but to protect herself.

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Ford says:

October 26, 2013 at 1:24 pm

…so once again it’s the guns fault. There is a segment of society, or the lack there of, butchering each other including their women and the tool used is accused. Pathetic.

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Anne says:

October 26, 2013 at 11:39 am

There are a lot of issues to consider in this case. One is the idea of some women that they need a man to validate them, regardless of what he brings to the table. Women who already have low self-regard are particularly vulnerable in this case. Another thing to consider is that physical violence is usually preceded by constant verbal abuse, and the more people get away with, the worse their behavior becomes. In addition, people who grow up in homes where domestic abuse occurs often become victims or victimizers. Then, there’s a strong likelihood that the distrust of law enforcement officers plays a part in the underreporting of domestic violence. Some non-black officers either show indifference, or they come with an adversarial attitude toward black folks in general. That doesn’t inspire confidence in law enforcement. It’s not ALL officers, but some, and the ones that do these things create problems. For some folks, their religious beliefs cause them to tolerate domestic violence.
That’s because they embrace male dominance and female submission, rather than thinking of relationships as partnerships. That’s why religious beliefs have to go hand-in-hand with critical thinking and common sense. Then there’s the question of socialization in which people are not always taught to respect the opposite sex, which causes other problems in addition to domestic violence. That particularly goes for some men, who are not taught to respect women. That respect is not about putting women on unrealistic pedestals but about treating us as fellow human beings with the same respect that everyone deserves. Economic problems can also cause stress that in turn causes people to lash out at each other with destructive and sometimes deadly results. What it boils down to is that there’s often no one reason that makes black women particularly vulnerable. That said, some of the same factors also contribute to domestic abuse of men, something that’s even more underreported.

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Realman2 says:

October 26, 2013 at 9:39 am

This problem can be corrected if black woman stopped hanging out and lusting after men they already know who are worthless thugs and bums.

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