Firearm Deaths - Women

Firearm Deaths - Women in United States

United States

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: 

• Women ages 20-24 compared with those ages 35-44.
• Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women compared with Asian women. 

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: 

• Making sure all guns inside the house are unloaded and locked away securely.
• Keeping all lock combinations, codes and storage keys appropriately hidden, especially from children.

Targeting intimate partner violence, which contributes significantly to firearms deaths among women, is also necessary. Strategies to prevent intimate partner violence include: 

• Teaching social-emotional, conflict management and communication skills. 
• Early childhood interventions to reduce risk factors associated with partner violence later in life, such as child abuse or neglect, and promote positive parenting skills and family dynamics.
• Creating protective social environments in schools, neighborhoods and workplaces.
• Improving financial security for low-income families. 
• Increasing survivor supports such as victim-centered advocacy and health care services, housing programs and legal and law enforcement protections. 

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: 

• Reducing firearm-related deaths. 
• Reducing nonfatal physical assault injuries. 
• Reducing nonfatal firearm-related injuries.  

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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.