Photo by Sacha Verheij on Unsplash
Nearly 2,400 females were killed by males in 2024 and of these, 86.9 percent knew their killer. Guns were used in 63.4 percent of the attacks, according to the most recent edition of the annual Violence Policy Center (VPC) study, When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2024 Homicide Data.
Each year, the VPC releases this report for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. The study uses 2024 crime data, the most recent available, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and covers homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender.
Nationwide, for homicides in which the weapon used could be identified, 63.4 percent of female victims were shot and killed with a gun. Of the homicides committed with guns, 60.0 percent were killed with handguns. The percentage of females killed by males with a firearm has increased substantially from 51.5 percent in 2011 to 63.4 percent in 2024, the study says.