2011 Wisconsin Domestic Violence Homicide Statistics Released

40 Individuals Killed Last Year in 34 Domestic Violence Incidents

Madison—The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV) released statistics related to state domestic violence homicides that took place in 2011.  Forty people were killed in 34 incidents. These totals are down from 2009 and 2010, which saw 67 and 58 deaths respectively.

“While we mourn the loss of every life, we are encouraged that the record levels of domestic violence deaths from the previous two years have receded,” said Patti Seger, executive director of WCADV.

2009 had the highest number of domestic violence deaths in the eleven-year history of tracking homicides, and 2010 had the third highest.  In comparison, 2011 was the third lowest year in terms of total deaths and close to the eleven-year average for number of victims. 

The Wide Reach of Domestic Violence

“The statistics show domestic violence’s reach is much wider than violence directly between intimate partners,” said Seger. “Victims in 2011 also included children, parents of perpetrators and in one case a law enforcement officer who was responding to domestic violence. Domestic violence is a problem that affects the entire community, and it requires community-wide solutions.”

Homicide Prevention

To that end, WCADV has recently undertaken an initiative to prevent domestic violence homicides in Wisconsin communities. The WCADV Homicide Prevention Project provides direct support to local community coordinated response teams that are actively pursuing prevention strategies.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

The project is using WCADV’s eleven years of domestic violence homicide data to inform its efforts. The data is released annually, immediately before the beginning of October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“The names of victims remind us of the life and death consequences of domestic violence. Local domestic violence victim shelters and service providers will hold events across Wisconsin during October to remember those who died during the previous year and to draw attention to this pervasive issue,” Seger said.

Other Statistics

Other data include:

• Perpetrators of domestic violence homicide incidents were overwhelmingly male--76%.
• Victims ranged in age from less than one year old to 82. Approximately one in five victims was a child under the age of 5.
• Victims were from 15 counties across all regions of Wisconsin.
• Three perpetrators took their lives after taking the lives of their victims. This is the lowest number of perpetrators suicides since WCADV started tracking domestic violence deaths in 2000.
• Firearms were used in domestic violence homicides more than any other type of weapon or method of killing (46%).

The full statistics are available online at: http://www.wcadv.org/content/resources/2011-wisconsin-domestic-violence-homicide-summary

 ###