October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Here's how guns impact domestic violence rates across the Commonwealth.
2024 has been a very difficult year for domestic violence in Massachusetts, and guns have played a pivotal role.
According to our member organization Jane Doe, which compiles a comprehensive list of domestic violence homicides across the Commonwealth each year, Massachusetts has experienced 19 domestic violence homicides so far in 2024. Of those 19 victims, 13 were killed with firearms. There have been a total of 9 murder-suicides and 7 were carried out with firearms. These statistics place MA above the national average. In the United States, over half of all DV homicides are gun-related. You can read the complete list of DV homicides in MA with narratives for each event on Jane Doe's website.
These numbers tragically don't tell the full story about the impact of firearm-related domestic violence homicide in Massachusetts. Domestic violence impacts a victim's entire social network, and when a homicide occurs, their loved ones and communities are left to process the violence. For every homicide victim, there are a multitude of family members, friends, co-workers and community members who are significantly impacted by the loss and dealing with direct trauma.
We also know that prior to these homicides, guns are commonly used as tools to exert control in abusive relationships. Guns make abuse in all its forms - physical, sexual, psychological, and financial - more dangerous, and they make leaving an abusive situation more difficult and much more deadly. Research shows that simply being threatened with a gun can leave a survivor with trauma equal or greater to the traumatic impact of a physical or sexual assault. And when a domestic violence situation escalates, the presence of a gun increases the likelihood of homicide by 500%.
It is also important to note that people who belong to groups that have experienced systemic injustices are more at risk of this kind of violence. Indigenous women experience the highest rates of domestic violence in the United States, at a rate 5 times higher than white women. Black women experience domestic violence at a rate 2.5 times higher than white women.
Massachusetts is in the midst of a domestic violence crisis, and guns are a critical factor. In order to address this crisis and prevent future trauma, we must address the role that guns are playing in it.
Learn more about guns and domestic violence on our Issues page here.
If you or someone you love is struggling with domestic violence, call the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233), or visit our member organization Jane Doe's website for more MA resources.
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