Article: Nevada tops national list for women killed by men

Wednesday September 15, 2010 7:14pm PDT

Victoria Campbell, News 4

Nevada women are killed by men at a higher rate than in any other state in the nation, according to a study conducted by the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

In 2008, 38 women were killed by men. The majority were white, the most commonly-used weapon was a firearm, and 83 percent of the women knew their killers. Most were wives, common-law wives, ex-wives or girlfriends.

"There are a lot of factors at work in Nevada," said Joni Kaiser, executive director of the Committee to Aid Abused Women. "The 24-hour lifestyle, high rates of drug- and alcohol abuse, and of course the unemployment rate."

"I was abused in every way you can imagine," said "Maria", who survived domestic violence and escaped with her children. "He raped me, he hit me, he threatened to hurt my family, our children and me."

Maria sought and received help from CAAW and the court system and no longer has contact with her ex-husband. But she says she's not surprised by the high rate of murders in Nevada.

"At all of the agencies where I got help, I saw victims," she says. "I was not the only one. I didn't want to involve the police, but I learned that I wasn't alone."

The Committee to Aid Abused Women (CAAW) operates an emergency shelter, a 24-hour hotline and provides many other services for people who are fleeing violence in their homes. For more information about how you can help, click here.