Title: Debunking Myths About Gender, Race and Murder | Psychology Today
Headings: Debunking Myths About Gender, Race and Murder
Scott A. Bonn Ph.D.
Debunking Myths About Gender, Race and Murder
Reality is not what you might think.

Content: This is due in part to the fact that men are more likely than women to be in public places that increase their victimization risk such as a bar or pool room. article continues after advertisement
In contrast, women are most likely to be killed at home by a current or former male intimate—that is, a husband, boyfriend, ex-husband or former boyfriend. Making this point, the UCR data from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s found that a female is more than 2.5 times as likely to be shot by her male intimate partner as to be shot, stabbed, strangled, bludgeoned, or killed in any other way by a stranger. The UCR data for the years 1980 to 2008 reveal that less than 12 percent of all female victims were murdered by strangers, compared to nearly 26 percent of all male victims. In addition, nearly 42 percent of all female murder victims were killed by an intimate partner versus only 7 percent of male victims. The data reveal that females are almost six times more likely than males to be killed by an intimate partner. In contrast, nearly 60 percent of male murder victims were killed by an acquaintance and approximately 25 percent were murdered by a stranger. The same data reveal that female victims were involved in nearly 64 percent of all intimate killings and 82 percent of all sex -related killings. Finally, male victims accounted for 90 percent of drug-related homicides and 95 percent of gang-related homicides between 1980 and 2008. Neither drug- or gang-related homicides typically involve intimates which helps to explain why the vast majority of victims in such cases are males.