Citation

Price JH, Payton E. Violence Gend. 2016; 3(1): 36-41.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/vio.2015.0016

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Women in the United States are 11 times more likely to be murdered with a firearm than are women in other high-income countries. Women are 9 times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than by a stranger. Firearms are more likely to be present in the homes of battered women. We analyzed articles published from 2000 through the end of 2014 in the three leading journals that focused broadly on women's health issues: Journal of Women's Health; Women and Health; and Women's Health Issues, for articles addressing firearm violence against women. Subsequently, we review the intimate partner firearm violence literature and four potential policy options to reduce this violence. The three leading journals that focus broadly on women's health issues have not adequately addressed firearm violence against women in the past 15 years. Intimate partner violence led to 668 firearm suicides and 1,738 firearm homicides in 2010. This level of firearm violence can be reduced by banning convicted abusers, stalkers, and those with restraining orders from possessing firearms; increasing reporting by states of records that indicate who is a domestic abuser; requiring background checks on all firearm sales; and requiring domestic abusers surrender their firearms to authorities. Intimate partner violence often results in fatal firearm violence. Using a public health approach, there are policies that should be changed at both the state and federal levels that can significantly reduce firearm violence against women.

Language: en