South Carolina moves to No. 2 in rate of men killing women

Donna Parker died last month at the hands of a person she once trusted enough to marry.

Shot to death by her husband in the parking lot of a North Myrtle Beach home improvement store, the woman became part of a disturbing South Carolina statistic.

As we observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Violence Policy Center has released a report that ranks the state No. 2 in the nation for murders in which the victim is a woman and the perpetrator, a man.

In an overwhelming number of those cases, the killings involve a domestic dispute.

The statistics, culled from data provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, show a rate of 2.84 per 100,000 for South Carolina women murdered by men in 2006. The national rate is 1.29 per 100,000.

It’s not the first time the Palmetto State has had such a startling showing, having ranked as high as No. 1 in previous years.

But a more recent drop to sixth had many advocates of domestic violence policy hopeful that the trend would continue.

Legislation passed in 2006 by South Carolina lawmakers stiffened the penalties for domestic violence offenders and required training for judges, a move that advocates anticipate will eventually bring our numbers of domestic violence deaths down significantly.

Some legal experts, however, don’t think it will be enough.

They cite a lack of offender rehabilitation programs for the lackluster standings.

Others are calling for a preventive approach.

According to a study by the Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, the children of abused women are four times more likely to become violent juvenile offenders and to carry those violent tendencies into adulthood.

Perhaps an increased focus on programs for these young victims of domestic violence fall-out holds some answers.

It’s a complex problem, certainly, but considering the likelihood of a familial culture of violence living on through these unfortunate children, it’s an avenue that should be thoroughly explored.

The cycle must be broken if we’re going to protect the Donna Parkers of the world.

It seems that a comprehensive response that includes stronger prevention programs, mandatory rehab for all offenders and, for the most serious offenders, prison time, is what’s required.

Considering that a good many men who kill their domestic partners also kill themselves, such as in the Parker case, the threat of major jail time is not always a deterrent.

Our current approach will be tested in the next couple of years to determine if harsher prison penalties will save women’s lives.

For better or worse, only time will tell.