The South Carolina Silent Witness Story : Report on Domestic Violence Homicide Victims from 2010

Abstract

In 2010, there were a total of 44 people murdered by a household member, according to the South Carolina definition. Of those 44 people, 34 were women, constituting 77% of the total, and 10 were men, constituting 23% of the total. The demographics of the victims were as follows: 39% were Black, 57% were White, 2% were Hispanic and 2% were Indian. The average age of these victims was 40 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.