THE FEMALE HOMICIDE VICTIM

This study examines the ways that females meet violent death and the role that illegal drug use plays in precipitating such deaths. The sex role hypothesis and the transactional risk thesis are explored to help account for homicide victimization of women. Data were drawn from the records of the Medical Examiner's Office in Philadelphia. Records of all illegal drug using homicide victims were compared with a random sample of non-drug-using victims. Data included interviews with relatives of the deceased, autopsy reports, police and other records. Both hypotheses received support. The importance of these findings can only be assessed, however, when more is known about how sex role constellations work in drug-using groups