From 1999 to 2020, Black women were on average six times more likely than white women to be a victim of homicide, according to a new study, with researchers pointing to structural social inequities as fueling their higher risk.
In 2020, the homicide rate for Black women was 11.6 homicides per 100,000 women, compared to a relatively static rate of 3 per 100,000 among white women in the same age group.
Wisconsin, in particular, saw the largest disparity of any state overall, with the homicide rate among Black women more than 20 times that of white women from 2019 through 2020.
Study authors said this marks a “disturbing increase” from the period between 1999 and 2003, when the homicide rate among Black women was six times that of white women.
“Structural racism might provide insight as to why Black women, regardless of their ethnicity, face disproportionately high rates of homicide,” the study stated.
Persons:
“, ”, Bernadine Waller, ” Waller, they’re
Organizations:
National Institute of Mental Health, Columbia University Irving Medical, D.C, U.S . News, Wisconsin
Locations:
Midwest, South, West, Virginia, Alabama, Florida . Wisconsin, In Wisconsin , Missouri, Arizona, Oklahoma, Washington