An exploratory study of the violent victimization of women: Race/ethnicity and situational context

Abstract

Although much has been learned in recent years about the victimization experiences of women, there remains a considerable knowledge gap with respect to the victimization of women of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. In order to confront this issue, we use the large number of cases available in the National Crime Victimization Survey (1992-2000) to examine the risk and protective factors associated with violent victimization among non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American women. We then describe in more detail the violent incidents against these women, looking for distinguishing patterns across groups. Our results are useful for fine-tuning theories of victimization to explain variance in violence for females across racial and ethnic subgroups.