Table 1

Intimate Partner Homicides as a Proportion of Total Homicides in the United States, 2008 through 2012

200820092010201120122008–2012 Mean (SD)
Overall homicides
    Total homicides14.18013,63612,99612,66412,76513,248 (646.63)
        Total male victims11,05910,49610,0589,8299,91710,271 (509.32)
        Total female victims3,0783,1222,9182,8132,8342,953 (140.69)
    Male:female homicide
        Victim ratio3.59: 13.36: 13.45: 13.49: 13.50: 13.48: 1
Intimate Partner homicides
    Male IPH victim264279241269264263.4 (13.94)
        Husband11914111010896114.8 (16.78)
        Boyfriend145138131161168148.6 (15.53)
    Female IPH victim1,0691,0811,0951,0269921,052.6 (42.58)
        Wife577609603552498567.8 (45.12)
        Girlfriend492472492474494484.8 (10.83)
Total IPH victims1,3331,3601,3361,2951,2561,316 (40.82)
Female: Male IPH victim ratio4.05: 13.87: 14.54: 13.81: 13.76: 14.01: 1
Total homicides in U.S.*7,9127,6507,2727,0767,0087,383.6 (386.76)
Percent IPH9.410.010.310.29.89.9 (0.36)
  • Data from Uniform Crime Reports, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2008–2012, Washington, DC: Department of Justice.

  • * Total homicides here are based only on homicides in which the victim–perpetrator relationship was known. This excludes the following “unknown” relationship homicides: 2012 (n = 5,757); 2011 (n = 5,588); 2010 (n = 5,724); 2009 (n = 5,986); and 2008 (n = 6,268).