Common Myths Surrounding Homicide

Myth : There is no such thing as a homicide survivor. The term "homicide survivor" is a contradiction in terms.

Fact: Homicide survivor is a statement that is seemingly self-contradictory, and yet it expresses the truth. Homicide survivors are the family and friends of a murder victim. The pain, trauma, and turmoil caused by the murder of their loved one forces them into a battle for survival.

Myth: Murder victims are bad people who associate with bad people.

Fact: Murder victims come from all walks of life. Murder strikes in all races, ages and socioeconomic levels.

Myth: Murder victims contribute to their own victimization.

Fact: Murder victims do not want to be killed. Some victims may be in unsafe situations; however, they do not ask to be or deserve to be murdered. Many are innocently shopping, returning to or from work, or sleeping in their own bed.

Myth: Family and friends of murder victims should go through a grief period the same as anyone else who has lost a loved one.

Fact: A homicide survivors pain for the death of their loved one is complicated and burdened with the police investigation, criminal justice system, news media, reactions of family and friends, and society as a whole. A homicide survivor's grief process is different due to these other complications.

The Aftermath of Murder

Over 20,000 men, women and children are victims of homicide in the United States each year. Over a million survivors are left behind, whose lives are tragically changed forever. Nothing in life can prepare us for the murder of a loved one. Murder involves more than a death.

For most victims, it cuts short a healthy, young life, and for all victims, it is committed through a senseless act of violence. The added dimension of intentional violence compounds the sense of sorrow and loss with acute feelings of injustice, distrust and helplessness. Survivors face a long period of emotional struggle to reconstruct a devastated life. Murder is unquestionably the worst thing that one person can do to another. For its survivors, murder is a terrible tragedy. It shatters much of what was joyous and valuable in our lives.

There is no cure for the aftermath of murder, but survivors can find help and understanding, and can construct a new life with a renewed sense of purpose. Homicide Survivors provides free services to a victim population that had previously been overlooked and neglected. It is a sad and widely held misconception that the crime of murder leaves behind no victims; some of the most devastated victims of crime are homicide survivors. The grief process for survivors is traumatic, and characterized by interruptions by intrusions from the media, police and other members of the criminal justice system