Firearms are used in more than half of intimate partner homicides and two-thirds of pregnancy-related homicides in the United States. Reducing access to firearms can prevent suffering and deaths of women and children.

The United Nations defines femicide as “an intentional killing with a gender-related motivation, [that] may be driven by stereotyped gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls, unequal power relations between women and men, or harmful social norms.” The word “femicide” is Latin meaning “killing women.”

In the United States, guns are the leading cause of domestic-violence fueled femicide. Additionally, a 2022 Harvard study showed that homicide is the leading cause of death for women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth. According to a study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, 68% of pregnancy-related homicides from 2009 to 2019 involved firearms.

FIREARMS ARE USED IN OVER 50% OF INTIMATE PARTNER HOMICIDES.
— Lisa Geller, Johns Hopkins

A victim or survivor of domestic abuse five times more likely to die when an abusive partner has access to a gun. The rate of intimate partner-related firearm homicides in the U.S. is significantly higher than comparable industrialized countries.*

According to Senior Advisor Lisa Geller at The Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: “We fail victims and survivors of domestic violence the moment we choose to protect abusers — and their firearms— over the people being abused. We must do more to protect individuals — the vast majority of whom are women — experiencing domestic violence. We know that firearms are used in over 50% of intimate partner homicides.

Ensuring that domestic abusers are prohibited from purchasing and possessing firearms and ensuring that firearms are actually removed from abusers is critical to saving lives.”While women are disproportionately targeted, men also are substantially impacted by domestic violence. According to breakthecycle.org, “1 in 2 women and 2 in 5 men experience domestic violence. 85% of domestic violence victims are women.”

Contrary to the arms industry myth that guns will protect women every credible scientific study of women and guns in the last two decades strongly indicates that a firearm in a woman’s home is far more likely to be used against her or her family than to defend against an outside attacker. Increasing gun ownership by women would only heighten that risk. Often, an abusive partner will not let a woman purchase a firearm or even access their own money or credit cards.

Changing the way people view women, children, gender, and gender roles is vital to reducing domestic violence. In the meantime, understanding the deadly intersection of firearms and domestic violence will allow society to disarm abusers and save lives.

Ways YOU can help end gender-targeted violence:

1. Listen to and believe survivors.
2. Demand support in your state and nationwide for Extreme Risk Protection Orders that allow families and police to disarm abusers.
3. Set examples for all generations to demand respect for gender and the human rights of women and girls.
4. Understand consent. 
5. Learn the signs of abuse and watch for them.
6. Stand against rape culture.
7. Tell your state and federal representatives to prioritize funding for research into violence against women and children.

*Campbell, et al., American Journal of Public Health