NCJ Number
187668
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 335-351
Editor(s)
Claire M. Renzetti
Date Published
March 2001
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article reports the results of a systematic test of the importance of factors derived from social disorganization theory to intimate partner femicide (female homicide) rates.
Abstract
In the United States, homicide is a leading cause of death among young women. Although the overall number of female homicides declined, in New York City between 1990 and 1997, intimate partner female homicides increased. The reason for this is unclear. Sociostructural accounts of homicide rates have traditionally focused on the importance of socioeconomic factors and factors indicative of social disorganization. A feminist critique of this perspective suggests that such factors are less important to intimate partner femicide. Using census data on community-level sociostructural factors and surveillance data on female homicide between 1990 and 1997 in New York City, the relative importance of sociostructural factors in models of intimate partner and non-intimate partner femicide are evaluated. This study represents an important step toward improving prevention efforts in that it offers evidence that intimate partner femicide rates in New York City communities are not fully explained by the sociostructural factors that have explained male homicide and other crime rates. This study offers additional support for the importance of labeling intimate partner femicide as a unique phenomenon. References