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Deaths due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide, or undetermined) per 100,000 females ages 20-44
Deaths due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide, or undetermined) per 100,000 females ages 20-44
US Value: 5.1
Top State(s): Massachusetts: 0.9
Bottom State(s): Alaska: 13.8
Definition: Deaths due to firearm injury of any intent (unintentional, suicide, homicide, or undetermined) per 100,000 females ages 20-44
Data Source and Years: CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, 2018-2020
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2023.
Firearm violence is a serious and deadly public health issue, especially for women. Women in the United States are 21 times more likely to die by firearm compared with women in other developed countries. In 2020, there were 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States, a 35% increase from 2019.
More than half of all female homicides are related to intimate partner violence, and approximately 10% of women killed by an intimate partner experienced violence in the month preceding their death. Women are 5 times more likely to die if their abuser has access to a gun. Similarly, suicide rates are higher among women who live with a person who owns a gun compared with women who live with a person who never owned a gun.
The firearm death rate is higher among:
Firearm deaths are preventable, and there is a lot that can be done at the individual, community, and policy levels to reduce the firearm death rate.
It is safest not to keep any guns in the home at all, but there are other steps gun owners can take to improve household gun safety, like:
Targeting intimate partner violence, which contributes significantly to firearms deaths among women, is also necessary. Strategies to prevent intimate partner violence include:
Community- and state-level initiatives are key. Communities can offer resources and support to help resolve conflicts before they escalate to gun violence, and partner with public health and public safety agencies to examine local trends in gun violence and generate solutions. State-level policy recommendations include strengthening firearms legislation, particularly background check laws and firearm removal laws like Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Extreme Risk Protection Orders.
Improving access to mental health resources can help prevent suicide. Examples include medical interventions, support groups, effective clinical care for mental disorders and family and community support. In 2022 the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline was launched to provide an easy-to-remember number and 24/7 confidential support for people in distress, as well as prevention and crisis resources, by call, text or online chat. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number (1-800-273-TALK(8255)) is also active.
Healthy People 2030 has several violence prevention objectives related to firearms, including:
Davis, Ari, Lisa Geller, Rose Kim, Silvia Villarreal, Alexander McCourt, Janel Cubbage, and Cassandra Crifasi. “A Year in Review: 2020 Gun Deaths in the U.S.” Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, 2022. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/2020-gun-deaths-in-the-us-4-28-2022-b.pdf.
Lee, Lois K., Eric W. Fleegler, Caitlin Farrell, Elorm Avakame, Saranya Srinivasan, David Hemenway, and Michael C. Monuteaux. “Firearm Laws and Firearm Homicides: A Systematic Review.” JAMA Internal Medicine 177, no. 1 (January 1, 2017): 106. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.7051.
Miller, Matthew, Yifan Zhang, Lea Prince, Sonja A. Swanson, Garen J. Wintemute, Erin E. Holsinger, and David M. Studdert. “Suicide Deaths Among Women in California Living With Handgun Owners vs Those Living With Other Adults in Handgun-Free Homes, 2004-2016.” JAMA Psychiatry 79, no. 6 (June 1, 2022): 582. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.0793.
Niolon, Phyllis Holditch, Megan Kearns, Jenny Dills, Kirsten Rambo, Shalon Irving, Theresa L. Armstead, and Leah Gilbert. “Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policies, and Practices.” Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipv-technicalpackages.pdf.
Petrosky, Emiko, Janet M. Blair, Carter J. Betz, Katherine A. Fowler, Shane P. D. Jack, and Bridget H. Lyons. “Racial and Ethnic Differences in Homicides of Adult Women and the Role of Intimate Partner Violence — United States, 2003–2014.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 66, no. 28 (July 21, 2017): 741–46. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6628a1.
Websdale, Neil, Kathleen Ferraro, and Steven D. Barger. “The Domestic Violence Fatality Review Clearinghouse: Introduction to a New National Data System with a Focus on Firearms.” Injury Epidemiology 6, no. 1 (December 2019): 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-019-0182-2.
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