More than 1,600 women in the USA were murdered by men in 2013, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Violence Policy Center.

Oklahoma has the sixth highest ratio of women murdered by men, according to a new study.

“It is our belief that this new state prohibition on convicted domestic violence offenders no longer having access to firearms must be fully implemented if we are to see significant reductions in the numbers of homicides we see each year”, Barber said. The map is based on Violence Policy Center data from 2004 to 2013.

In 2013, Oklahoma had 32 female homicide victims; 26 were white, 5 were black, and 1 was Native American. Statistics found include, 94 percent of women killed by men were murdered by someone they knew and the most common weapon used is a gun.

“What we know saves lives are certified domestic violence agencies”, she said.

But this past year has provided hope for positive change, thanks in part of the state lawmakers’ passage of a domestic violence bill, Barber said.

The group says more laws need to be passed to protect women from abusers, and gaps need to be closed between state and federal gun laws. Of those, 69 percent were killed with handguns, the study found.

“Our services are in such high demand”, she said. The state’s domestic violence problem drew national attention earlier this year when the Charleston Post and Courier won a Pulitzer for its reporting on the subject.

Nationwide, 1,615 women were murdered by men in single victim/single offender incidents in 2013, a rate of 1.09 per 100,000.