Gender differences in patterns and trends in U.S. homicide, 1976-2015

Abstract

In the research literature on homicide, gender has generally received less attention than other demographic characteristics, specifically the age and race of victims and offenders. To some extent, this is understandable because the overwhelming majority, almost three-quarters, of homicides in the United States involve a male killing another male. Therefore, the usual patterns of homicide mirror for the most part the patterns of male homicide. However, there are substantial differences in the trends and patterns of female offending and victimization that should not be ignored in the aggregate. In this article, we employ a national homicide database (the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports, SHR) from 1976 through 2015 with multiple imputation of missing information to examine gender differences among victims and offenders in terms of characteristics such as age, race, weapon, circumstances, and victim-offender relationship.