Gender Inequality and Levels of Female Homicide in Cities: Examining the Influence of Race, Poverty Context, and Family Structure for Levels of Female Homicide Victimization and Offending
type: CreativeWork
description: In the United States, Black women are at an increased risk of homicide victimization and offending when compared to White women. What accounts for these differences in homicide involvement for Black and White females? Spanning the last thirty years, feminist theory has called attention to the importance of examining how structures relating to gender contribute to killings by and of females. Empirical work in this area has highlighted that relative differences in men and women’s social and economic positioning in the United States, known as socioeconomic gender inequality, are important for city levels of female homicide victimization and offending. Few of these studies, however, have considered other structural factors that may be contributing to homicide by and of females. As a result, we know little about how race influences the relationship between socioeconomic gender inequality and female homicide involvement for the 2000 period. We also have limited information on how city poverty contexts or family structure contribute to female homicide victimization and offending for women of different racial groups. As such, our knowledge regarding the differential structural causes of Black women’s increased risk of homicide victimization and offending when compared to White women’s is incomplete. Drawing on feminist theories of homicide, this dissertation attempts to contribute to our current understanding of how structures of gender inequality contribute to killings by and of women from different walks of life. Toward this end, I utilize data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports, a voluntary reporting database that includes city level information on the sex, age, and race of homicide victims and known offenders. Social and demographic information is drawn from the United States Bureau of the Census for 2000. These data are used to answer the following questions. First, is socioeconomic gender inequality related to killings by and of …
abstract: In the United States, Black women are at an increased risk of homicide victimization and offending when compared to White women. What accounts for these differences in homicide involvement for Black and White females? Spanning the last thirty years, feminist theory has called attention to the importance of examining how structures relating to gender contribute to killings by and of females. Empirical work in this area has highlighted that relative differences in men and women’s social and economic positioning in the United States, known as socioeconomic gender inequality, are important for city levels of female homicide victimization and offending. Few of these studies, however, have considered other structural factors that may be contributing to homicide by and of females. As a result, we know little about how race influences the relationship between socioeconomic gender inequality and female homicide involvement for the 2000 period. We also have limited information on how city poverty contexts or family structure contribute to female homicide victimization and offending for women of different racial groups. As such, our knowledge regarding the differential structural causes of Black women’s increased risk of homicide victimization and offending when compared to White women’s is incomplete. Drawing on feminist theories of homicide, this dissertation attempts to contribute to our current understanding of how structures of gender inequality contribute to killings by and of women from different walks of life. Toward this end, I utilize data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports, a voluntary reporting database that includes city level information on the sex, age, and race of homicide victims and known offenders. Social and demographic information is drawn from the United States Bureau of the Census for 2000. These data are used to answer the following questions. First, is socioeconomic gender inequality related to killings by and of …
author: Myers, Meghan Elizabeth
language: English
keywords: Criminology, Sociology, Gender Inequality, Women, Homicide Victimization, Homicide Offending
date published: 2013-05-21
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:36:08Z
provider: OhioLINK
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The Ohio State University