Racial Disparities in Femicide and Intimate Partner Homicide: An Analysis of Cases in Georgia from 2006 to 2009 Open Access

Fulling, Susannah Jane (2012)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/0c483j98g?locale=en
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Abstract

Abstract
Racial Disparities in Femicide and Intimate Partner Homicide: An Analysis of Cases in Georgia
from 2006 to 2009

Women in the United States face the greatest threat of homicide of any high income country now estimated to be a five times greater. Homicide of women is commonly a very extreme outcome of a much larger Public Health issue: intimate partner violence. African American women have been found to be at increased risk of femicide and intimate partner femicide (IPF) and the aim of this study is to highlight this disparity in Georgia. Using police and coroner reports, homicides of African American and white victims ages 15 and above in Georgia were analyzed. Rates of femicide, IPF, and disparity were calculated for each Public Health District. Domestic violence services were mapped and the number of women per bed in each district was calculated. Chi-Square tests and logistic regression were used to determine differences in case characteristics. Femicide, intimate partner homicide, and disparity rates were found to vary across Georgia. Rates of femicide and IPF among African American women were found to be consistently higher. Domestic violence services were also found to be unevenly distributed among the districts and a positive correlation between higher femicide rates and a higher number of women per bed was found. Case characteristics were found to be significantly different between white and African American cases however race was not found to be a significant predictor of IPF. Areas of the state that were found to have the higher rates of femicide and IPF were districts with rural areas and extremely populated urban centers. This may indicate these types of areas increase the risk of femicide and IPF. The unequal distribution of domestic violence services across the state had moderate effect on the overall femicide rate, which indicates other systems are working to create these disparities.

Table of Contents


Table of Contents

Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------1

Definition and Public Health Significance --------------------------------------- 1

Barriers Preventing Women from Leaving Violent Relationships ------------------- 4

African American Women and IPV ----------------------------------------------5

Theoretical Framework --------------------------------------------------------5

Purpose --------------------------------------------------------------------- 7

Background and Review of the Literature -------------------------------------- 7

Femicide in the U.S ---------------------------------------------------------- 7

Intimate Partner Homicide in the U.S ------------------------------------------ 9

The Economic Cost of Intimate Partner Violence -------------------------------10

Common Barriers Preventing Women from Leaving an Abusive Relationship -------12

Social Ecological Model ------------------------------------------------------ 15

Social Ecological Model and Intimate Partner Violence --------------------------17

African American Women's Experience with Intimate Partner Violence ----------- 20

Methodology -----------------------------------------------------------------24

Results ----------------------------------------------------------------------29

Femicide and IPF in the Public Health Districts--------------------------------- 31

Domestic Violence Services in Georgia ---------------------------------------- 41

Analysis of Case Characteristics---------------------------------------------- 44

Discussion ------------------------------------------------------------------ 47

Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------ 56

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