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More than 100 women killed by men every year

MORE than 100 women are killed by men every year, The Femicide Census reported today, raising “serious failings” about the state’s response to violence against women. 

In a disturbing nationwide report covering the last 10 years, released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the census found that the number of women killed annually by men has stayed distressingly consistent at between 124 and 168.

The authors said: “By any measure, we had hoped to see the number of killings gradually decreasing given the state has had our data for a number of years, as well as its own initiatives to tackle men’s violent crime against women. 

“We show that there are so many patterns to the killings which would enable the state to target certain factors which could lead to a reduction in the number of women killed. 

“The fact that a similar number of women are still being killed over a decade is a serious failing and indicates a lack of will to tackle root causes.”

The report, which examined 1,425 cases of women killed by 1,419 men, found that in 46 per cent of all cases, the perpetrator had a history of violence — in 29 cases the perpetrator had killed before.  

In at least 59 per cent of femicides committed by intimate partners or male relatives, there was a history of prior abuse by the perpetrator against the victim. 

In a statement, Femicide Census founders said: “The known histories of violence of these men and the fact that so many women had told someone or sought help is a shocking indictment of the failure of the systems that are meant to respect, protect and fulfil women’s human rights.

“This report gives the lie to the standard press releases that these killings of women are ‘tragic, unpredictable, isolated incidents’ which ‘give no cause for wider public concern’  — they have common patterns, they have known risk factors, they demonstrate a massive public policy failing which should concern us all. 

“That there has been little or no change across 10 years is devastating.”

The report criticised the response to violence against women and the criminal justice system, pointing out the lack of funding for, and cuts to, the specialist women’s sector and the “questionable” charging practices at the CPS among other issues.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has been contacted for comment.

The founders added: “The consistency at which women are killed suggests failures, fragmentation and inadequacies at every level, and in every process, that is meant to work to prevent, investigate and prosecute men’s violence against women. 

“So blanket and integrated are these failures, and so consistent across the 10 years, that we can see that men are, in some cases, quite literally getting away with murder. 

“We found a further 117 cases of deaths of women which were suspicious or violent but could not be included because ultimately no-one was convicted and we fear there are many more. 

“What more is needed before government starts to deliver for women?”

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