Talking Points

This is a dangerous place to live – if you’re a woman.

The most recent Violence Police Center study ranked our state 5th in the nation for men killing women, a tie with Tennessee.

The VPC study “When Men Murder Women” uses 2017 homicide data to rank states.

South Carolina has ranked within the top 10 states for men murdering women every year since 1998.

52 women were murdered in our 46 counties in 2017.

4 were in Lexington County.

Men have murdered 6 women in Lexington County this year.

The Violence Against Women Act provides protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking.

The act expired Feb. 15 of this year.

SC Rep. Joe Wilson is a co-sponsor of the Violence Against Women Extension Act of 2019.

It would extend 19 grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and subsequent legislation through next March 31.

The bill was referred to House subcommittees in May.

The SC General Assembly passed the Domestic Violence Act of 2015, an overhaul that increased penalties for offenders.

It included a mandatory lifetime ban on gun possession for those convicted of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature.

The Violence Policy Center found the most dangerous states for women are Alaska, Louisiana and Arkansas.

The least dangerous were New York, Nebraska and Maine.

Find the full report at http://vpc.org/studies/wmmw2019.pdf .