A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK, according to the Femicide Census. This translates to an average of one woman dead at the hands of a man every 2.7 days since May 2010.
Femicide, the killing of women and girls because of their gender, remains a deeply troubling issue in the UK.
Despite decades of advocacy and legislative reform, the rate of fatal violence against women has shown little sign of decline, underscoring the urgent need for systemic change and targeted interventions.
The United Kingdom is grappling with a grim reality: a woman is killed by a man every three days.
According to the Femicide Census, a comprehensive source of information on women killed by men in the UK, men have killed at least 1,920 women since May 2010, when the Conservative government came to power.
This translates to an average of one woman dead at the hands of a man every 2.7 days.
The Femicide Census report ‘2000 Women’ analysed the deaths of 2,000 women killed by men since 2009.
Some disturbing patterns emerged.
Overkill: 59% of femicides involved excessive, gratuitous violence beyond what was necessary to cause the victim’s death.
Children witnessing femicide: At least 163 femicides were witnessed by children, while 37 women were killed alongside 53 children, often by their father.
Demographic factors: Women born outside the UK may be disproportionately killed by men, with factors such as poverty, language barriers, and dependency on men contributing to this trend.
Recent data reveal the ongoing scale and severity of femicide in the UK. According to the Femicide Census and the Counting Dead Women Project, 50 women have been killed by men in the UK so far in 2024, as of September 19.
Of these, 13 were over the age of 60, accounting for 26% of this year’s victims. This reflects a broader trend.
From March 2023 to March 2024, 100 women and girls were killed in circumstances where men were the primary suspects, with nearly 20% of victims aged over 60.
Looking at longer-term figures, the Femicide Census reports that from 2017 to 2021, 162 women over 60 were killed by men, with 71% of these cases perpetrated by family members, spouses, or intimate partners.
Across all age groups, the number of women killed by men in the UK has consistently ranged between 124 and 168 annually since 2009.
On average, 62% of these women were killed by a current or former partner.
In London, femicide disproportionately affects black women. Metropolitan Police data show that in 2022, nine of the 21 femicide victims (43%) were black, and in 2023, eight of the 13 victims (62%) were black women.
This stark overrepresentation has prompted calls for urgent action from community organisations and campaigners, who highlight the need for culturally specific support services and greater political will to address the crisis.
Older women are particularly vulnerable. In Northern Ireland, 14.3% of female homicide victims since 2013 were over 60, while in Scotland and Wales, older women accounted for 22% of femicide victims since 2018.
Many of these cases involve intimate partners or family members as perpetrators.
