This summer, the video of suspended NFL player Ray Rice punching his girlfriend unconscious apparently made domestic violence real for the nation's sport community. But, domestic violence has been all too real for quite some time, for law enforcement, shelter programs and victims here in San Diego County.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the San Diego Association of Governments, SANDAG, has just released some new numbers on domestic violence homicides.
The SANDAG report finds arguments and domestic violence were the top two causes of homicide in San Diego County last year.
The San Diego Association of Governments released the data Thursday. Gang activity was the third most common cause of homicide in the county, according to the report.
The report showed gender differences in the age of victims and the causes of homicide.
"In 2013, female homicide victims in San Diego County were more likely to be older and victims of a domestic violence. Male homicide victims were younger and more likely a victim of an argument or gang-related homicide," said Cynthia Burke, SANDAG's criminal justice research director.
Arguments were the motive for 43 percent of the homicides last year, while domestic violence accounted for 20 percent. Both those numbers were an increase over the previous year.
Gang activity was the motive for 18 percent of homicides in 2013, a decrease from the previous year.
According to a news release from SANDAG, other key findings from the report include:
• Eighty-three percent of the female homicide victims were killed by a spouse, intimate partner or family member, compared to 16 percent of males.
• Domestic violence was more often the primary factor when a homicide victim was Hispanic (29 percent) or an “other” ethnicity (36 percent), compared to white (9 percent) or black (0 percent).
• Women 18 to 24 make up 12 percent of the regional population, but they comprise 34 percent of rape victims.
• Forty-two percent of rape suspects are 25 to 39, even though this age group makes up only 22 percent of the region’s population.
