More than half the women killed by men in the UK in 2018 were killed by a current or former partner, many after they had taken steps to leave, according to a report on femicide.
The fourth Femicide Census, conducted by the campaigner Karen Ingala Smith, found 149 women were killed by 147 men in 2018. The number of deaths is an increase of 10 on the previous year and the highest number since the census began.
Of the deceased women, 91 (61%) were killed by a current or former partner. Only 6% of murders were committed by a stranger.
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Of the 58 women not killed by current or former partners, 12 were killed by their sons or stepsons, while five were killed by a son-in-law or former son-in-law.
In half the cases, perpetrators had previous histories of violence against the victim or other women, with three men found to have killed before. One had been convicted of manslaughter in 1996 and jailed for three years. The second, who also had a history of stalking, had been released from prison in 2014 after murdering his previous partner in 1999. The third had been convicted of culpable homicide in 1992 and had also been convicted of serious violent offences in 2001 and 2010.
The most common method of murder was a sharp instrument, with strangulation or asphyxiation the second most common. The majority of killings (68%) occurred either in or immediately around the woman’s house.
Source: Over half of UK women killed by men die at hands of partner or ex
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