Mapping femicide: using GIS and hotspot analysis to study the murder of female intimate partners

Abstract

Intimate partner violence is a global phenomenon that affects individuals every day, with the most extreme cases leading to femicide. Both intimate partner violence and femicide have been studied previously, but rarely have either been studied through a spatial analysis lens. Crime mapping is an effective addition to research that can allow for better visual and spatial research. Using Women Count U.S.A. Data, a media-based collection of femicide cases, and ArcGIS Online to map all femicide cases collected for 2018, this study explores how femicide occurrences coincide with the availability of domestic violence services and firearm ownership. This analysis finds that state-level firearm ownership may not influence femicide rates, while domestic violence service availability developed mixed results. At the city level, the availability of domestic violence services seems to aid in decreasing the femicide rate, while evidence is weak at the broader state level. Examining how domestic violence services impact the femicide rate could be utilized by social services and law enforcement to better allocate resources based on this spatial relationship, and further studies on femicide mapping may provide visual aspects to understand whether state policies are effective in decreasing violent crime.