The South Carolina Silent Witness Story : Report on Domestic Violence Homicide Victims from 2008

Abstract

In 2008, there were a total of 32 people murdered by a household member, according to the South Carolina definition. Of those 32 people, 26 were women, constituting 81% of the total, and 6 were men, constituting 19% of the total. The demographics of the victims were as follows: 53% were black and 47% were white. The average age of these victims was 45 years old. The Office of the Attorney General, through its S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women program, collected the data by contacting every Sheriff’s Office, Coroner’s Office, Police Department and Solicitor’s Office in the State. Those offices were provided with a victim information sheet to complete and asked to provide any incident reports related to domestic homicide victims.