Article: Domestic Violence in Louisiana

Posted: June 9, 2010 07:15 PM
Domestic Violence in Louisiana

An alarming new report puts Louisiana in the top 5 states where men murder women.

This week members of the legislature are being presented with the results of a study that put's Louisiana at the top of the list.

Louisiana has the highest rate of domestic violence related homicides in the nation.

Since 1997, Louisiana has consistently ranked within the top 5 states among female victims killed by male offenders.

In the latest report, Louisiana was ranked first in the nation, with a homicide rate of 2.53 per 100,000 for females murdered by males. That's nearly double the national average.

From 1997 through 2009, 892 people died in domestic violence incidents, 70% of victims were female and in 80% of the cases, the perpetrators were men.

While those results are predictable and mirror statistics throughout the country, other statistics were more alarming.

Ninety percent of these homicides are committed by someone who the woman was familiar with.

In fact, the majority of the murders were committed by the woman's current intimate partner or spouse.

Forty nine percent of the cases involved multiple victims or a homicide or suicide.

That's higher than the national average of 30%, and in most of the cases, 66% of them, firearms were the weapon of choice.

If you need any information about domestic violence, the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence has set up a hotline, that number is 1-888-411-1333.

You can also find them online at http://www.lcadv.org/