Suicide<unk> -related suicides and homicides in the United States There is a strong relationship between<unk> s in the home, as well as access to<unk> s more generally, and suicide risk, the evidence for which is strongest in the United States. In 2017, almost half of the nation's 47,173 suicides involved a firearm. A 1992 case-control study conducted in Tennessee and Washington found that individuals in a firearm owning home are close to five times more likely to commit suicide than those individuals who do not own firearms. A 2002 study found that access to<unk> s in the home was associated with an increased risk of suicide among middle-aged and older adults, even after controlling for psychiatric illness. As of 2008, there were 12 case-control studies that had been conducted in the U.S., all of which had found that<unk> s in the home were associated with an increased risk of suicide. However, a 1996 New Zealand study found no significant relationship between household<unk> s and suicide. Assessing data from 14 developed countries where<unk>  ownership levels were known, the Harvard Injury Control Research Center found statistically significant correlations between those levels and suicide rates. However, the parallels were lost when data from additional nations was included. A 2006 study found a significant effect of changes in<unk>  ownership rates on<unk>  suicide rates in multiple Western countries. During the 1980s and 1990s, the rate of adolescent suicides with<unk> s caught up with adult rates, and the 75-and-older rate rose above all others. A 2002 study found that 90% of suicide attempts with firearms were successful. The use of firearms in suicides ranges from less than 10 percent in Australia to 50 percent in the United States, where it is the most common method and where suicides outnumber homicides 2-to-1. Those who purchased a firearm were found to be high risk for suicide within a week of the purchase. The United States has both the highest number of Suicides and<unk>  ownerships for a developed country and firearms are the most popular method to commit suicide. In the United States when<unk>  ownerships rise so, too, does suicide by firearm. Suicide can be an impulsive act, 40% of those who survived a suicide attempt said that they only considered suicide up to five minutes before attempting the act. This impulsivity can lead to the use of a firearm as it is seen as a quick and lethal method. According to U.S. criminologist Gary Kleck, studies that try to link<unk>  ownership to victimology often fail to account for the presence of<unk> s owned by other people. Research by economists John Lott of the U.S. and John Whitley of Australia indicates that safe-storage laws do not appear to affect juvenile accidental<unk> -related deaths or suicides. In contrast, a 2004 study led by Daniel Webster found that such laws were associated with slight reductions in suicide rates among children. The same study criticized Lott and Whitley's study on the subject for inappropriately using a Tobit model. A committee of the U.S. National Research Council said ecological studies on violence and firearms ownership provide contradictory evidence. The committee wrote: "Existing research studies and data include a wealth of descriptive information on homicide, suicide, and firearms, but, because of the limitations of existing data and methods, do not credibly demonstrate a causal relationship between the ownership of firearms and the causes or prevention of criminal violence or suicide." Intentional homicide Handguns are involved in most U.S.<unk>  homicides. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) defines intentional homicide as "acts in which the perpetrator intended to cause death or serious injury by his or her actions." This excludes deaths: related to conflicts (war); caused by recklessness or negligence; or justifiable, such as in self-defense or by law enforcement in the line of duty. A 2009 report by the Geneva Declaration using UNODC data showed that worldwide firearms were used in an average of 60 percent of all homicides. In the U.S. in 2011, 67 percent of homicide victims were killed by a firearm: 66 percent of single-victim homicides and 79 percent of multiple-victim homicides. In 2009, the United States' homicide rate was reported to be 5.0 per 100,000. A 2016 Harvard study claims that in 2010 the homicide rate was about 7 times higher than that of other high-income countries, and that the US<unk>  homicide rate was 25.2 times higher. Another Harvard study found that higher<unk>  availability was strongly correlated with higher homicide rates across 26 high-income countries. Access to<unk> s is associated with an increased risk of being the victim of homicide. Access to firearms is not the sole contributor to increased homicide rates, however, as one study by the Southern Criminal Justice Association in 2011 found. Equally important seem to be the particular societal conditions in a given area, socio-culturally. These conditions include, but are not limited to societal age structure, economic inequality, cultural symbolism associated with firearms and the cultural value of individual life. A 2001 study examining<unk>  ownership amongst 21 high-income countries found that<unk>  ownership by country was correlated with female firearm homicide rates, but not male firearm and overall homicide rates. Domestic violence Some<unk>  control advocates say that the strongest evidence linking availability of<unk> s to death and injury is found in domestic violence studies, often referring to those by public health policy analyst Arthur Kellermann. In response to suggestions by some that homeowners would be wise to acquire firearms for protection from home invasions, Kellermann investigated in-home homicides in three cities over five years. He found that the risk of a homicide was in fact slightly higher in homes where a handgun was present. The data showed that the risk of a crime of passion or other domestic dispute ending in a fatal injury was higher when a<unk>  was readily available (essentially loaded and unlocked) compared to when no<unk>  was readily available. Kellerman said this increase in mortality overshadowed any protection a<unk>  might have deterring or defending against burglaries or invasions. He also concluded that further research of domestic violence causes and prevention are needed. Critics of Kellermann's study say that it is more directly a study of domestic violence than of<unk>  ownership. Gary Kleck and others dispute the work. Kleck says that few of the homicides that Kellermann studied were committed with<unk> s belonging to the victim or members of his or her household, and that it was implausible that victim household<unk>  ownership contributed to their homicide. Instead, according to Kleck, the association that Kellermann found between<unk>  ownership and victimization reflected that people who live in more dangerous circumstances are more likely to be murdered, but also were more likely to have acquired<unk> s for self-protection. In studies of nonfatal<unk>  use, it was found that<unk> s can contribute to coercive control, which can then escalate into chronic and more severe violence.<unk> s can have a negative impact on victims even without being discharged. Threats of<unk>  use or showing a weapon can create damaging and long-lasting fear and emotional stress in victims because they are aware of the danger of having an abuser who has access to a<unk> . Robbery and assault The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines robbery as the theft of property by force or threat of force. Assault is defined as a physical attack against the body of another person resulting in serious bodily injury. In the case of<unk> -related violence, the definitions become more specific and include only robbery and assault committed with the use of a firearm. Firearms are used in this threatening capacity four to six times more than firearms used as a means of protection in fighting crime. Hemenway's figures are disputed by other academics, who assert there are many more defensive uses of firearms than criminal uses. See John Lott's "More<unk> s, Less Crime". In terms of occurrence, developed countries have similar rates of assaults and robberies with firearms, whereas the rates of homicides by firearms vary greatly by country. Accidental From 1979 to 1997, almost 30,000 people in the United States alone died from accidental firearm injuries. A disproportionately high number of these deaths occurred in parts of the United States where firearms are more prevalent. Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, accidental firearm deaths increased by about five hundred percent until April 2013.
Gun violence
Patient abuse
Sexual assault
Lateral violence
Hospitalism
Physical abuse
Electronic harassment
Sexual violence