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Most killers are men. Most people killed are men. When men kill, they are most likely to kill male strangers or acquaintances. Women are most likely to be killed by spouses or lovers.
The Lesson is:
If you are a man, it is unlikely that your wife or girlfriend will kill you. However, if she is inclined to murder you are her likeliest victim. If you beat her, your chances are better that she will kill you. In general, you are much more likely to be killed by a male stranger or acquaintance in a public place.
If you are a woman, your husband or lover is the most likely person to kill you. And, he is likely to kill you in your house or a friend’s house. Therefore, you are safest away from home and among strangers.
I couldn’t find more recent statistics, but what I did find was that things haven’t changed all that much.
The actual statistics:
While women comprise more than half of the U.S. population they commit only 15% of all murders. When women do kill they kill family members, usually men who have battered them for years. 90% of the women in jail for killing men had been battered by those men.1 Women comprise 23% of all homicide victims.
Men mostly kill acquaintances, strangers, or individuals of undetermined relationship (80%). When women kill they kill their spouse (31.4%), intimate acquaintance (13.6%) or another member of their family (14.8%).2
http://home.cybergrrl.com/dv/stat/statb
Females were more likely to be victimized by persons whom they knew (62%) while males were more likely to be victimized by strangers (63%).
Females were more likely to be victimized at home (their own or that of a neighbor, friend, or relative). Males were most likely to be victimized in public places such as businesses, parking lots, and open areas.3
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/sd
Comments
My personal thoughts are that men are (generally speaking) more brash and likely to perform an impromptu passionate act of indiscretion while women (again generally speaking) are most likely to carefully consider the options, weight the pro's and con's and then committ to an action.
1. I think you are right about both our abhorance for cold-blooded acts & the fact that women are seen that way. Medea, one of the earliest plays starring a woman, is about her cold-blooded murder of her children. It is clear from the text that she would have been forgiveable had she done it in passion. But, she didn't. She clearly acknowledged that she had weighed all of her options and chose to do it deliberately.
2. Spouse hypothesizes (and I think he is correct) that in fact, MEN are the more emotional sex. Otherwise, why would there be so many taboos on men showing their emotions. All the statistics show that men are more emotional and yet we persist in this societal idea that they are less emotional than women.
(Following taboos will point fingers at what we really want to do).
I think it is the nurturing aspect of women that is often confused with emotions. The thing is (in my opinion) nurturing is not necessarily an emotional act. As a mother I can attest to the fact that there is an unexplainable bond but I don't know that the bonds are emotional in nature as much as it is an 'instinctual' drive.
I don't really see myself as a very emotional person though and in the past that fact has caused me some distress as I sought to find the compromise between my view of self and the societal view of how I should be. In addition, the bonds I have with my children are different even as they pertain to each child. I know without a doubt though that I could and would kill if it were necessary for my children and I highly doubt that I would feel any remorse whatsoever in that situation. From this perspective I can understand what leads a woman to kill her children because she has been delued to believe that she is 'saving them' by doing so. It is a calculated decision with emotions playing almost no role at all.
Another factor that may lead some to believe that women are more emotional are the wild hormonal swings present at different points in life. My first hand experience with this leads me to believe that although my actions are within control the emotional swings themselves are uncontrollable. It is only from these experiences that I can begin to understand how things like 'blind rage' can affect a person's judgement.