Counting Dead Women

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2023: UK women and girls killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2022: UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2021: 144 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2020: 110 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2019: 117 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2018: 175 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2017: 151 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2016: 125 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect 

2015:   138 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2014: 156 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect 

2013: 154 UK  women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

2012: 144 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

This short film clip introduces the Femicide Census 

Counting Dead Women in Other Countries

At least 100 UK women are suspected to have been killed by men in 2023

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Counting Dead Women, has recorded at least 100 UK women who were killed by men, or where the primary suspect for an alleged homicide, is a man, in 2023.  

Counting Dead Women monitors the media and collates reports of women suspected to have been killed by men. The project was developed by Karen Ingala Smith, following the murder of Kirsty Treloar in Hackney on 2nd January 2012.  The project is now run with the support of the Femicide Census which Ingala Smith and Clarrie O’Callaghan launched in 2015.

The number of women known or suspected to have been by men in 2023 will inevitably increase beyond 100, sadly even in the next few days. On average since the end of 2009, 140 women have been killed by men every year. That’s an average of two women dead at the hands of a man, every 5 days.

We only count women where men have been charged, or deemed responsible for the death of a woman by a statutory agency, for example in cases such as those where men have killed themselves after killing a woman or have been held under the Mental Health Act in relation to a killing.  The Femicide Census has found that on average in just under 12% of cases men who kill women also kill themselves. We always have a number of cases each year where the media have reported the death of a woman but the circumstances are not yet clear. There are regular reports of women being found dead that end up disappearing from the news, they might end up being non-suspicious deaths, overdoses, suicides (often following abuse), men may have been bailed pending investigation and so on. Usually more details become apparent in the course of the year, when criminal charges can be made and as cases proceed through the criminal justice system.

In addition, the Femicide Census sends Freedom of Information requests to the 42 UK police forces asking for information on women suspected to have been killed by men in the preceding year. This also reveals cases that have not featured in the media or which we might not have seen.

Each woman killed is a loss in and of itself in relation to the woman whose life has been taken. On average, in the UK 58 percent of women killed by men are killed by a current or former partner. Often in these cases, the killing of a woman follows months, years or even decades of violence, abuse and coercive control. In addition, analysis by the Femicide Census finds that around 8 percent of women killed by men, are women who were killed by their own son. Around 10 per cent are women who were killed by a stranger.

The killing of women, because they are women and reflecting unequal relationships between women and men as individuals but also collectively, is known as femicide. Femicide is a systemic issue. Whilst individual men must always be held responsible for the actions that they take, femicide is also a product of sex inequality and widely held cultural values. Regardless of her relationship with the man who killed her and the circumstances of her life, each of these women deserves to be remembered by name and as more than just another statistic. Almost every woman’s death leaves grieving family and friends. There should be no hierarchies in femicide.

Counting Dead Women and the Femicide Census are run by a small number of women: Rosie Allen, Dr Katie Elliot, Heather Harvey, Dr Karen Ingala Smith and Clarrie O’Callaghan. Whist we are happy for you to use our work in your own campaigns, research or other projects, we politely request that you reference the source of your data. The Femicide Census and Counting Dead Women are run entirely on donations and voluntary income. If you would like to donate to support our vital work, you can do so here.

Lost Voices of Women – A feminist perspective on ending men’s violence against women and girls

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My speech at the FiLiA conference – 14 October 2023

I wonder how many of you noticed the sign that said ‘Transphobia kills us …. and hurts women’ held by one of the welcoming committee that greeted us as we arrived at the conference yesterday?

The thing is, as far as week know, there have never been a single murder of a trans identified person in Scotland. But women, between 2009 and 2021, at least 151 women were killed by men in Scotland. That’s an average of about one woman killed by a man every month. Our panel today is looking at lost voices of women and I’d like us to remember these women, their lost voices.

In this constituency alone – Glasgow Central – between 2009 and 2021,  seven women have been killed by men. Let’s remember the lost voices of

  • Fatou Saine
  • Khanokporn Satjawat
  • Josephine Steel
  • Karen Buckley
  • Amalet Francis (not pictured)
  • Xin Xin Liu, and
  • Nasreen Buksh (not pictured).

Two of these seven women were killed by men who were strangers, five by partners or ex-partners.

We will not allow men’s rights activists to make these women invisible.  

Anyway, back to the talk I’d prepared ….

One of the things I’m most frequently asking is how we can – or even whether we can – end men’s violence against women.

We talk about domestic violence and abuse, child sexual abuse, rape, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, prostitution, FGM, sexual harassment and so on as forms of men’s violence against women and girls. Often the reality of women’s lives is that it is not either/or, that what is done to them crosses boundaries between these abuses and violations to which women and girls are subjected to by men.

On top of this, there are countless other crimes, micro-aggressions and behaviours which don’t meet crime thresholds but do negatively affect, restrict and reduce the lives of women and girls.

Then there is femicide, the killing of women by men.

I started counting, commemorating and recording the killings of women by men in the UK in 2012. In 2013, my Femicide Census co-founder and executive director, Clarrie O’Callaghan had our first conversation about working together on the project that would become the Femicide Census, which we launched in 2015.  The Femicide Census is now the UK’s most comprehensive source of information about women killed by men in the UK since 2009 and the men who – and circumstances in which -they killed them.  We have over 2,000 women identified on our database. Since we started, the average of one woman in the UK killed by a man on average every 3 days has remained depressingly consistent.

How do we stop this?

Top of the list, I put that we need to see the connections between all forms of men’s violence against women and girls and that this is necessary for meaningful social change.

Seeing these connections is an absolutely critical step in ending men’s violence against women. But it is an early step in a very long road and there are constantly push backs, sometimes dressed up as progression.  In 2010, the then coalition government launched its strategy, the ‘Call to End Violence against Women and Girls’, that strategy has been revised twice, but just over a decade later and after many years in the                                                                           making – the creation of the Domestic Abuse Act. In this the concept of the connections between the different forms of men’s violence against and abuse of women and girls, is overshadowed by a landmark piece of legislation that crosses the sexes – a significant minority of us believe this was an opportunity missed, and what we would have chosen instead was a Men’s Violence Against Women Act.  And it’s important that we remember that the Domestic Abuse Act does not protect all women equally. Women with insecure immigration status are not protected after MPs voted against proposed amendments to the draft bill for protections to be extended to include migrant women.

Astoundingly, neither the national strategy to end men’s violence against women, nor the Domestic Abuse Act mention Femicide. Of course, the Domestic Abuse Act doesn’t, it’s too busy making clear it applies to men. There are short mentions of domestic homicide reviews. Domestic homicide reviews are reviews carried out by agencies when someone (of either sex) aged over 16 dies as a result of domestic violence, abuse or neglect.

Roughly 58% of UK women killed by men are killed by current or former partners, with another 14% killed by other family members, it’s probably worth mentioning at this point that just over 8% of UK women killed by men in the UK are women killed by their sons.) This means that almost 30% of the killings of women by men in the UK are not subject to such a review. Women’s killed by a neighbour, a work colleague, a flatmate or by a stranger.

So, despite a national strategy to end violence against women (because of course they do not name men in the title) when it comes to domestic homicide, our statutory policy response has ignored whether killing s of women by a partner, ex-partner or family member share more in common with other killings of women by men that they do with killings of men by partners or family members. Despite some very critical differences, men killed by a current or former partner are more likely to be killed by a same sex partner and men are far more likely than women (for obvious reasons) to strangle or use the brute force of their body to kill a woman, than a woman when she kills a man.

So, whilst it’s good that concepts that were once only understood by feminists – like the connections across all forms of men’s violence against women – have become mainstream, the problem is that when that happens, the feminist foundations of the concept are usually washed out by the time they become policy. And this renders them much less effective.

Another thing we cannot shy away from and that I hinted at earlier is naming the agent: men. Man, singular and men plural as perpetrators, men as a sex class of beneficiaries and patriarchy as a social order which is shaped and reproduces itself in men’s interests.

And it should be inconceivable that one of the significant barriers that we have had to address, an issue that has taken up inordinate amounts of feminist time and energy is being able to say what a woman is and what a man is. Yet that that is the story of the last decade.  

If we cannot measure sex in data we cannot measure sex differences, we cannot measure sex inequality and we cannot measure who does what to whom across the forms of sexual and domestic violence and abuse. Without the ability to do this, policy interventions will inevitably be arrows shot in the dark.

It took a grassroots crowd funded judicial review led by Fair Play for Women for the ONS to agree to define the sex question in the 2021 England and Wales Census, on the basis of sex not gender identity. It took women’s direct action. It took women’s money, it took women standing together and saying no. It should be to legislators’ shame that this was necessary.

The government spends millions on responding to men’s violence against women and girls, amounts that the feminists who began building the network of women’s refuges and rape crisis services just over 50 years ago would not have dared to dream of. But we aren’t seeing evidence that violence against women is reducing? Why not?

The main reason is that most interventions focus on the individuals who are violent, institutions that respond to that violence and a bit of mealy-mouthed nod to prevention, something they call ‘healthy relationships’ every now and again. These interventions have largely been taken out of their feminist framework.

Whilst perpetrators must of course be held responsible for their actions and behaviours, men’s violence against women is not simply reducible to individual acts perpetrated by individual men, it is key to men’s domination of women, and it is supported and normalised by patriarchal institutions, attitudes and social norms and values.

There is a high degree of negative correlation between sex equality and rates of men’s violence against women, that is, as equality increases, violence against women decreases.

Cultural concepts of masculinity and femininity need to be got shut of – certainly not embedded in the way they are in transgender identity ideology. The objectification of women and the sexualisation of that objectification needs to end. It’s long overdue for our government to have a policy position on ending prostitution. Sex equality is not possible when one sex is for sale, when women are a commodity, and the other sex is the vendor and buyer, with consumer rights of course.

We need not only to hold men to account, we need not only to ensure that policing, the law, the budget, education systems are not sexist and misogynistic, we must also address the factors in an individual which create violence, we must eradicate sex inequality, and we absolutely must uproot the social and cultural context that supports men’s violence against women.  This takes us back to my earlier point, making the connections across different forms of men’s violence against women.

If we want to end men’s violence against women, we need responses that acknowledge that whilst either sex can be victim or perpetrator in most crimes, in patriarchal society violent crimes reflect sex inequality and patriarchal cultural values. Different forms of violence share root causes, and creating silos around those different forms of violence which disregard sex, moves us away from seeing and addressing those root causes.

We need policy makers to stop watering down feminist insights in an effort to appease the ‘what about the mens’, the defensive men, the men who think women’s sex-based rights and protections are not a foreground issue in politics, the men who think the concept of patriarchy is a feminist conspiracy theory, the men who think that men can be women or are afraid to say what they know: that women do not and cannot  have a penis.

Simply put, if we want to end men’s violence against women and girls we need policy and strategy that is sex based and recognises patriarchal sex inequality, power structures and culture.

2023

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In 2023, At least 100 UK women and girls aged 13 and over have been killed in circumstances in which a man or men are primary suspect.

  1. 6 January 2023: Beatrice Corry, 84, was found dead with head injuries in Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds. Her son, Matthew Corry, 45, was charged with murder. His plea of manslaughter was accepted by the court and he was detained indefinitely.
  2. 10 January 2023: Eliza Bibby, 47, was stabbed to death at her home in Wisbech by acquaintance, Jamie Boughen, 47. Boughen was convicted of murder and must serve a minimum of 22 years.
  3. 11 January 2023: An unnamed woman in her 50s was found dead at a property in St Leonards in Sussex. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder.
  4. 18 January 2023: Jacqueline Kerr, 54, suffered injuries consistent with a car crash or fall from height when she was attacked by ex-partner Christopher Cook, 43, at her home in Aberdeen. Cook, who was on bail at the time of the femicide, was convicted of murder. He must serve at least 20 years.
  5. 27 January 2023: Holly Newton, 15, was found fatally wounded in a suspected stabbing in Hexham, Northumberland. A 16-year-old boy suffered non-fatal injuries. Another 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of a weapon.
  6. 30 January 2023: Anne Woodbridge, 92, was found dead at a residential address in Western-super-Mare. Her husband, John Woodbridge, 91, has been charged with murder. 
  7. 5 February 2023: Emma Pattison, 45, and her daughter Lettie, were found dead at their home in Epsom, Surrey. Police believe Emma was shot dead by her husband, George Pattison, 39, before he killed their daughter and then himself.  
  8. 8 February 2023: Valentina Cozma, 40, was murdered by her ex-husband Georgian Constantin, 42, at her home in Stoke-on-Trent. He had arranged to meet Valentina under the pretence of repaying money. Constantin doused her in petrol and set her alight. He must serve at least 28 years.
  9. 11 February 2023: Erica Parsons, who was in her 60s was found dead at a property in West Devon. Stephen Parsons, 69, has been charged with murder.   
  10. 18 February 2023: Darrell Buchanan, 37, was found dead in a property in Hamilton, Glasgow. Her husband, Walter Buchanan, 64, has been charged with murder.
  11. 18 February 2023: Lorna England, 74, was stabbed to death in a park in Exeter, Devon. Cameron Davis, 30, has been charged with murder. Police do not believe Cameron Davis was known to Lorna.
  12. 20 February 2023: Sarah Brierley, 22 February 2023: Sarah Brierley, 49, was found dead in a property in Sheffield. It is believed she was killed on or around 14 February 23 when she was struck at least five times with a blunt object, such as a hammer. Her housemate, David Scott, 39 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to at least 29 years.
  13. 21 February 2023: Edna Berry, 80, was found with a serious head injury her home in Clacton, Essex. She later died in hospital. Her husband, John Berry, now 85, pleaded guilty to murder.
  14. 1 March 2023: Sandra Giraldo, 46, was found dead at an address in Rotherhithe, south-east London. She had been strangled. Her husband, Weimar Mosquera, 53, has been charged with murder.
  15. 4 March 2023: Charlotte Wilcock, 31, was murdered by a stranger as she sat on her doorstep of her Blackburn home. She suffered about 100 injuries, including 50 stab wounds. Anthony Stinson, 31, who had 11 previous convictions including rape and battery, was convicted of her murder. 
  16. 4 March 2023: Jane Collinson, 59, suffered 59 slash wounds and a stab wound when she was attacked by with a bread knife by her neighbour at her supported accommodation in Bernard Castle, Durham. Stephen Ansbro, 60, had previously told people he would ‘kill her’ and ‘do time for her’. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 18 years. He was also convicted of sexual abuse charges against girls in the 1990s.
  17. 5 March 2023: Helen Harrison, 59, was found dead at a house in East Yorkshire. Rick Parker, 39, has been charged with ABH and murder.
  18. 14 March 2023: Kinga Roskinska, 37, was stabbed to death in Handsworth, Birmingham. Pawel Ondycz, 50, has been charged with murder.
  19. 21 March 2023: Alesia Nazarova, 37, was found dead at her home in Portadown, NI. Kornelijus Bracas, 25, has been charged with Alesia’s murder and the attempted murder of her 12-year-old daughter. It is understood that there is a familial relationship between the victims and the accused. 
  20. 27 March 2023: Holly Bramley, 26, was found dead in a river 12 miles away from her home in Lincolnshire. Her husband, Nicholas Metson, 27, has been charged with murder. 
  21. 27 March 2023: Susan Turner, 41, was found dead in a property in Ayr, Scotland. Jason Bell, 49, Dee Black, 40, Ryan Hill, 25 and Michelle Ramage,41, have been charged with murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
  22. 27 March 2023: Beryl ‘Bez’ Purdy, 86, was found with serious injuries at her home in Broomfield, Somerset when officers were called out to a reported burglary. Beryl died at the scene. David Parish, 36, was arrested in connection with her death and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He has since been charged with murder. 
  23. 28 March 2023: Bernadette Rosario, 61, was found with serious facial injuries at an address near St Austell, Cornwall. She died at the scene. Michael Rowe, 36, has been charged with murder.
  24. 28 March 2023: Sara Bateman, 50, was strangled to death at her home in Wolverhampton. Her partner, Matthew Hyde, 41, pleaded guilty to murder.
  25. 28 March 2023: Nhi Muoi Wai, also known as Kim, 64, died in hospital after she collapsed during a robbery of her home in Morley, West Yorkshire. She suffered a stroke. Cousins Samuel Hanrahan, 20, and Jerry Hanrahan, 18, were convicted of manslaughter.  
  26. 6 April 2023: An unnamed woman of 27 was found dead in a flat in Elephant and Castle. Police launched a murder investigation into her death. A man fell to his death five hours later. Police say the pair are known to each other and they are not looking for anyone else in connection.
  27. 9 April 2023: Carol Baxter, 64, was found dead alongside her husband Stephen, 61, at their home in Essex. Their deaths were initially treated a ‘not suspicious’ but toxicology results found the couple had ingested fentanyl. Luke D’Wit, 33, has been charged with double murder. 
  28. 25 April 2023: Marelle Sturrock, 35, was found dead at her home in Glasgow. Two days later her partner, David Yates, 36, who was wanted by police in connection with murder, was found dead. Police Scotland, who has self-referred to Pirc, are not looking for anyone else in connection with Marelle’s death. 
  29. 26 April 2023: Elise Mason, 37, died after she was found unresponsive at an address in Chelmsford, Essex.  Mark Donovan, 38, has been charged with murder.
  30. 30 April 2023: Suma Begum, 24, was reported missing from an address in Tower Hamlets, London. Aminan Rahman, 45, has been charged with murder. 
  31. 1 May 2023: Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, 31, was stabbed to death on Stockwell Park Walk in Brixton. Mohamed Nur, 33, has been charged with murder, possession of an offensive weapon and causing GBH to three people. 
  32. 2 May 2023: Maya Devi, 77, was beaten to death with a rounders bat by her husband at their home in Hornchurch, Essex. Tarsame Singh, 79, pleaded guilty to murder and has been sentenced to a minimum of 15 years.
  33. 3 May 2023: Suzanne Henry, 54, was found with serious facial injuries at her home in Madeley, Staffordshire on 1 May 23. She died in hospital two days later. Her son, Finn Henry, 20, was charged with murder and convicted of manslaughter following psychiatric reports.
  34. 6 May 2023: Hayley Burke, 36, died in hospital of gunshot wounds sustained at her home in Kent. Her ex-partner Jacob Cloke, 29, was on life-support in hospital after an armed stand-off with police, he later died. Police are not looking for anyone else. 
  35. 7 May 2023: Georgina Dowey, 46, was found dead at a property in Neath, South Wales. Matthew Pickering, 48, has pleaded manslaughter. He is charged with murder.
  36. 12 May 2023: Kelly Pitt, 44, was suffered internal bleeding and 41 rib fractures when she was beaten and stabbed by her son at her home in Newport. Lewis Bush, 25, pleaded guilty to murder. He must serve a minimum of 16 years.
  37. 12 May 2023: Stephanie Hodgkinson, 34, was found stabbed to death at her home in Bournemouth. Her ex-partner, Fioletti, 31, has been found guilty of murder. He will be sentenced later in the month.
  38. 13 May 2023: Holly Sanchez, 32, was found with serious head injuries at a property in Crawley. Ryan Evans, 30, has been charged with murder. 
  39. 14-15 May 2023: Katie Higton, 27, and her partner Steven Harnett, 25, suffered multiple injuries at a property in Huddersfield. Ex-partner Marcus Osbourne, 34, pleaded guilty to double murder and to the false imprisonment and rape of another woman on the same night.
  40. 18 May 2023: Danielle Davidson, 33, was found injured in the street in Leith. She died in hospital a short time later. A 16-year-old boy has been charged in relation to her death.
  41. 19-30 May 2023: Emily Sanderson, 48, was last seen alive. She was reported missing on 25 May. Her body was found at a property in Sheffield on 30 May. She died of head injuries. Mark Nicholls, 43, has been found guilty of her murder.
  42. 20 May 2023: Christine Sargent, 73, was strangled to death at the home she shared with her husband in Loughton, Milton Keynes. Her husband, Michael Sargent, 77, was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He was detained indefinitely.  
  43. 26 May 2023: Sandra Harriott, 56, died in hospital after she was found with stab injuries in Huddersfield. Her brother, Roger Harriott, 55, was convicted of her murder and possessing an offensive weapon.
  44. 26 May 2023: Fiona Robinson, 37, was found with multiple injuries at an address in Chorley, Lancashire. James Gowan, 26, has been charged with murder.
  45. 31 May 2023: Debra Cantrell, 58, was found dead at an address in Plymouth. Callum Thomas, 32, has been charged with murder.
  46. 2 June 2023: Michelle Hodgkinson, 51, was walking in the Droylsden of Greater Manchester when she was stabbed to death. A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and has since been detained under the Mental Health Act.
  47. 3 June 2023: Chloe Mitchell, 21, was last seen alive in Ballymena, County Antrim. Human remains were found on 11th June 2023. Brandon Rainey, 26, has been charged with murder.
  48. 3 June 2023: Elizabeth Richings, 83, was found dead at a property in Bournemouth. Grenville Richings, 83, has been charged with murder.
  49. 9 June 2023: Chloe Bashford, 30, and her husband Josh, 33, were found dead at their home in Newhaven, East Sussex. Derek Martin, also known as Derek Glenn, 64, has been charged with two counts of murder.
  50. 9 June 2023: Felecia Cadore, 29, was stabbed at an address in Croydon, Surrey. She died on 14 June in hospital. Hussain Haron, 22, has been charged with her murder.
  51. 13 June 2023: Tejaswini Kontham, 27, was stabbed to death at a house in Wembley. Keven Antonio Lourenco De Morais, 23, has been charged with murder and attempted murder of another woman.
  52. 13 June 2023: Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, was stabbed to death on a street in Nottingham during a series of attacks in the city centre. Grace was trying to protect her friend when she was killed. Barnaby Webber, 19, and Ian Coates, 65, were also killed. Three other people were injured when they were hit by van. Valdo Calocane, 31, has been charged with multiple murder and attempted murder.  
  53. 16 June 2023:  Monika Wlodarczyk, 35, and her children Maja, 11 and Dawid, 3, were found dead at their home in Hounslow. Monika died of stab wounds. Their husband/father Michal Wlodarczyk, 39, was also found dead with stab wounds. Police are treating the death of Monika and her two children as murder and they are not looking for anyone else in connection with their deaths.  
  54. 20 June 2023: Fiona Holm, 48, was last seen alive. Carl Cooper, 65, has been charged with her murder and the murder of Naomi Hunte, 41, who was found stabbed to death at home on 14 February 2022. Cooper was known to both women.
  55. 21 June 2023: Nelly Akomah, 76, was found dead at a residential property in Croydon. Hugo Da Silva Pires, 28, has been charged with murder, burglary and fraud.
  56. 22 June 2023: Natasha Morais, 40, was found dead at an address in Whetstone, Leicestershire. Shannon Grant, 27, is charged with murder.
  57. 26 June 2023: Sarah Henshaw, 31, was found dead in a lay-by off the M1 near Chesterfield. She had not been seen since 20 June. Darren Hall, 36, has been charged with murder.
  58. 27 June 2023: Lynette Nash, 64, was found with serious injuries at her home in Portishead. She died at the scene. Her son, Gavin Nash, 39, has been charged with murder. 
  59. 27 June 2023: Elizabeth Watson, 58, was found dead at her home in Aberdeenshire. Jonathon Divers, 30, has been charged with murder.
  60. 14 July 2023: Rose Jobson, 69, is believed to have been shot dead by her husband at their home in Lincolnshire. It is believed Robert Jobson, 84, took his own life after the killing.
  61. 17 July 2023: Colette Law, 26, was found dead in a tent in churchyard in Lincolnshire. Paul Neilson, 30, has been charged with murder.
  62. 20 July 2023: Sharon Gordon, 58, was murdered by Peter Norgrove, 43, following a disagreement about works he has carried out on her home in Dudley. She suffered serious head injuries, possibly inflicted by eight hammer blows. Norgrove pleaded guilty to murder.
  63. 24 July 2023: Ann Blackwood, 71, was found fatally injured in a cemetery in Stubbington, Hampshire. Her ex-husband, Martin Suter, 66, has been charged with murder.   
  64. 29 July 2023: Hazel Huggins, 53, was found dead at a home in Plymouth, Devon. Bradley Huggins, 24, has been charged with murder.
  65. 29 July 2023: Amy Rose Wilson, 27, died in a car crash in Falkirk. Andrew Gregoire, 27 and Anthony Davidson, 30, have been charged with murder.
  66. 30 July 2023: Claire Orrey, 58, was found dead at a home in Telford. Her husband also sustained serious injuries. Robert Orrey, 31, is charged with murder and attempted murder.
  67. 1 August 2023: Liwam Bereket, 26, was found stabbed in woodland in Birmingham. Filmon Andmichaen, 30, has been charged with murder.
  68. 3 August 2023: Christine Emmerson, who was in her 70s, was found dead at an address in Lincolnshire. Shaun Emmerson, 50, has been charged with murder.
  69. 5 August 2023: Kelli Bothwell, 53, was found injured at a home in South Yorkshire. She died from a stab wound. Her husband, Paul Cousans, 52, pleaded guilty to murder. He will be sentenced in January 2024.
  70. 23 August 2023: Claire Knights, 54, was last seen alive in Canterbury. She was found dead two days later. Harrison Lawrence-van Poss, 20, has been charged with murder. He is also charged with voyeurism following a separate investigation on 22 August.
  71. 29 August 2023: Chintzia McIntyre, 48, was found dead outside her home in Warrington. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder.
  72. 1 September 2023: Gabriela Kosilko, 26, was last seen alive. Her body was found in woodland on 6 September. Sebastian Zarnoch, 30, was held on suspicion of murder and kidnap. He died in police custody. Police are not looking for anyone else.
  73. 18 September 2023: Susanne Galvin, 55, was found unconscious at a home in Bury on 16 September. She died in hospital two days later. Stephen Ball, 31, has been charged with murder.
  74. 21 September 2023: Alison Dodds, 51, was found dead at a property in Lancashire. She died of multiple injuries. Alex Hindley, 35, has been charged with murder.
  75. 23 September 2023: Carrie Slater, 37, died in hospital of a gunshot wound. She was found with life-threatening injuries at a property near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire on 21 September 2023. Richard Basson, 44, has been charged with murder.
  76. 24 September 2023: Helen Clarke, 77, suffered a head injury and significant burns sustained in a car fire in Swansea on 22 September 23. Her husband, David Clarke, 80, pleaded guilty to murder.
  77. 25 September 2023: Ruth Hufton, 46, was found dead at her home in Beeston. Anthony Green, 50, has been charged with murder.
  78. 27 September 2023: Elianne Andam, 15, was stabbed to death at a bus stop in Croydon. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder.
  79. 30 September 2023: Charlene Mills, 43, died following an incident at a property in Gorton, Manchester. Peter Pitt, 52, has been charged with murder.
  80. 9 October 2023: Deborah Boulter, 53, was found dead at a home in Nottingham. Police launched a murder investigation into her death. Officers also found the body of David Boulter, 60, at the address. Police are not looking for anyone else.
  81. 17 October 2023: Celia Barlow and her husband David, who lived in Berkshire, were killed whilst on holiday in Uganda. Their tour guide was also killed. Abdul Rashid Kyoto has been charged with multiple murder and terrorism related offences.
  82. 23 October 2023: Mandy Barnett, 60, was stabbed at a house in Leeds and passed away that evening. A boy of 17-years has been charged with murder.
  83. 25 October 2023: Denise Steeves, 59, was found with ‘a significant injury’ at Diamond Meadow Lodge Park in Brean, Somerset. Her husband, Simon Steeves, 70, has been charged with murder.
  84. 29 October 2023: Mehak Sharma, 19, was stabbed to death at a home in Croydon. Sahil Sharma, 23, has been charged with murder.
  85. 30 October 2023: Caroline Gore, 44, was found dead at an address in Wigan. David Liptrot, 56, has been charged with murder.
  86. 30 October 2023: Sian Hammond, 46, was found dead at a house in Cambridgeshire. Her husband, Robert Hammond, 47, has been charged with murder.
  87. 2 November 2023: Christie Eugene, 64, was found with injuries at a home in Brixton. She later died in hospital. Her son, Jason Phinn, 35, has been charged with murder.
  88. 7 November 2023: Sharon Butler, 64, was found with serious injuries in a garden of a property in Essex. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Kevin Shepherd, 54, of the same address, has been charged with murder.
  89. 10 November 2023: Perseverance Ncube, 35, known as Percy to her family and friends, was stabbed to death in front of her two children at an address in Salford. Obert Mayo, 45, has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
  90. 14 November 2023: Victoria Greenwood was found dead in a car park in North Hertfordshire. She was last seen alive on 10 November 23. Robert Brown, 38, has been charged with murder.
  91. 15 November 2023: Dawn Robertson, 62, was found unresponsive at a home in St Helens, Merseyside. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband, Stuart Robertson, 68, has been charged with murder.
  92. 19 November 2023: Salam Alshara, 27, was found seriously injured and died a short time later. The father of her four children, Wahib Albaradan, 35, is charged with murder.
  93. 20 November 2023: Alison Bowen, 41, was found with significant injuries when police were called to reports of an assault in Kingswood, Bristol. She was pronounced dead as short time later. Darryl Bowen, 43, is charged with murder.
  94. 16 November 2023: Kiesha Donaghy, 32, was found dead at her home in Elgin, Moray. Owen Grant, 41, has been charged with murder.
  95. 27 November 2023: An unnamed woman was found dead at a property in Stafford. Dale Crooks, 33, has been charged with murder.
  96. 28 November 2023: Taiwo Abodunde, 41, was pronounced dead at a house in Newmarket. Her husband, Olubunmi Abodunde, 47, has been charged with murder. Suffolk Constabulary has referred the incident to the IOPC following previous contact at the address.
  97. 5 December 2023: Lianne Gordon, 42, was shot dead outside a home in Lower Clapton. A man of 20 and a boy of 16 were also wounded in the shooting. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder. 
  98. 15 December 2023: Kamaljeet Mahey, who was in her 40s, was found stabbed at a home in Wolverhampton. Rajveer Mahey, 39, has been charged with murder.
  99. 15 December 2023: Glenna Siviter, 50, was found dead at an address in Middlesborough. Andrew Steven Hall, 46, has been charged with her murder and the attempted murder of a man was seriously assaulted on the same day.
  100. 24 December 2023: Kacey Clarke, 22, was stabbed to death at a home in Bermondsey, south London. A 16-year-old boy, who was known to Kacey, has been charged with murder.

Nevertheless, I persisted

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Why I still wanted to be in the Labour Party

I left Labour in a fit of pique in 2018 when the then General secretary, Jennie Formby, announced that all-women-shortlists would no longer be women only.

I applied to join again in December 2019 after the election defeat. I wanted to be part of building the party ready to win the next election because I am a socialist as well as a feminist. The thought of another five-years of Tory rule was bad enough. I wanted to help make sure that it wasn’t ten.

My application was rejected on the grounds that information had been brought to the party’s attention that I had engaged in conduct online “that may reasonably be seen to demonstrate hostility based on gender identity”. I wrote about the saga here.  I appealed. The appeal process concluded in July 2020, my appeal was unsuccessful.

I reapplied in June 2021, just after the Forstater ruling. It was now recognised in law that beliefs such as mine, that is, recognition of the reality of the difference between sex and gender, knowing that people cannot change sex, that women are disadvantaged if we can’t even name and measure sex discrimination (and so many more examples) were “worthy of respect in a democratic society” and our right to that belief was a protected characteristic. However, my application was rejected again. The reason given to me was that it had not been two years since my initial rejection.

So, two years after my application had been initially rejected (on 24 March 2022), I applied again. I was rejected again. This time I was given the reason that it was not two years since my appeal was rejected. So, I applied again on 21 July 2022, two years to the day of the conclusion of the appeal process. I got no response. Just in case my application had fallen down the back of a metaphorical filing cabinet, I applied again at the end of March 2023.

I’m very pleased to share that I am now a member of the Labour Party.

Why have I bothered to persist with a party that didn’t want me? Because – despite the imperfections of the Labour Party, and yes, I know there are many – I firmly believe that Labour offers the best policies for the majority of women in the UK.

I know the term ‘socialist feminist’ has again become a term of derision to some, but it’s a badge I’m proud to wear. I’m a feminist. I’m a socialist. They’re not incompatible, in fact I think that neither can be what it claims to be without the other. I prioritise women and within that I prioritise women who have been subjected to men’s violence. But I recognise that sex is not the only axis of oppression and privilege. I recognise that class, race, other inequalities and iniquitous social policies mean some women have fewer life chances and opportunities than others. I believe that the Labour Party deals with these inequalities better than the Tories and are the only Party which could possible beat the Tories in England and Wales in a general election.

Many women – and some men – some whose names some of us know and some whose names most of us do not, are working behind the scenes to make legislative and policy change. And of course, there are many whose work is visible and recognised. Some of these women and men are making sure that the Labour Party does not let women’s sex-based rights and protections slip like dry sand through fingers. Thank you to all those people for the fight you are fighting and the differences that you are making. Thank you for trying even where you fail or feel like you’re failing.

Some on the left have turned their backs on women’s rights. It has ever been thus. But feminists do not have to turn our backs on inequalities beyond sex inequality. Women don’t lead single issue lives and I’m not a single-issue feminist. Gender identity ideology is a threat to women’s rights and the mechanisms for responding to the many manifestations of sex inequality. It is an important fight but it is not our only fight. I’m not going to let sexist men, misogynistic men and women who won’t fight for women define the left or drive the rest of us out of grassroots or mainstream politics. I’m not going to sit back and let them write-off those of us who fight for women’s rights as right-wingers and traditionalists. I’m not going to collude with those on the right whose gender criticism aligns with regressive politics and a roll back of women’s freedoms or LGB equality. Whilst it’d be churlish of me to not acknowledge that some who are not of the left are making important contributions to the fight against gender identity ideology and resistance to ideological capture and I myself am of the left. I think and hope that I always will be. I’m not going to stop Defending Women’s Spaces. And I want the next UK government to be a Labour government.

Picking our targets

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Neither Jess Phillips nor Brianna Ghey will be mine.

Today, for the eighth year running, in the Parliamentary International Women’s Day debate, MP Jess Phillips read out the names of women in the UK who have been killed since the previous years IWD debate and where a man or men are principal suspects. This year the list contained the names of 107 women, the youngest, Holly Newton was just 15 years old, the oldest, Anne Woodbridge was 92.

I have been collating and commemorating UK women killed by men for 11 years, since the murder of 20-year-old Kirsty Treloar on the 2nd January 2012.

I am grateful to Jess Phillips for amplifying my work and for doing something that I could not do without her: ensuring that those women’s names are afforded the respect of being recorded in perpetuity in the official parliamentary record. This year and last year, Jess invited members of families of women who have been killed by men, some of them whose names have been read out in previous years, to sit in the House of Commons public gallery to listen. Jess and I are frequently told how much this gesture means to those who knew and loved the women who are commemorated.

This year, following the suggestion of my Femicide Census co-founder and fellow Director, Clarrie O’Callaghan, two weeks ago the Femicide Census wrote to every MP who had one or more constituents whose names were going to be read out.  84 letters were sent and followed up by email. We asked MPs to honour their constituents and act to prevent further femicides. We told them that femicide is a local and national problem occurring within the broader context of men’s violence against women which inhibits women’s ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men. Seven MPs acknowledged our letter: Rosie Duffield, Rushanara Ali, Lillian Greenwood, Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper, John McDonnell and Andrew Lewer. Others were visible in the parliamentary broadcast. However, like preceding years, the benches were noticeably empty. Whilst each man who chooses to end a woman’s life must be held to account and to justice, the names stand as a roll call of state failure, the government could be doing so much more to end men’s violence against women and girls. The almost empty chamber does not reflect well on political will to address men’s violence against women.

Counting Dead Women and sister project the Femicide Census record men’s fatal violence against women in the UK. Through this work we know that on average, a woman is killed by a man every 2.6 days, and by a current or former partner approximately every four days. We know that after current or former partners, the next largest group of males killing female relatives is sons who kill their mothers. It was the work of the Femicide Census that told us that Wayne Couzens was one of 16 former or serving police officers who had killed women between 2009 and his murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021. At least 237 women are suspected to have been killed by men in the UK since Sarah’s death.

There has been a significant response online to Phillips’ decision to acknowledge the death of Brianna Ghey in February this year after reading the names of women and girls. Ghey was a 16-year-old male who had a transgender in identity. A boy and a girl, both 15, have been charged with Ghey’s murder. An inquest opened yesterday and has been adjourned pending criminal proceedings. Ghey’s alleged murder was marked by thousands of people attending candlelit vigils across the UK. None of the names of the women and girls read out today attracted comparable responses. Yet like those who loved Ghey, each of those women and girls will have left devastated and still grieving family and friends. It is Ghey’s name trending on social media. I wish the killing of every woman and every girl, in the UK and across the world, attracted the comparable energy and condemnation. They rarely do.

As far as I’m aware, it’s just over four years between Brianna Ghey’s death and the previous most recent known murder of a transgender person in the UK, that of Amy Griffiths in January 2019. In that same period in the UK, at least 453 females aged over 14 years have been killed by males. Don’t let’s add to the deflection of attention from women and girls. My focus, like always, is those women and girls. That doesn’t negate the tragedy of the any male life taken. Whether or not we agree with Jess’s decision, let’s not make her or Brianna Ghey the scapegoats. We should be demanding action from the elected representatives and others with power and influence, who do nothing or little to end men’s violence against and abuse of women and girls. They’re the ones we should be castigating.

If you’re reading this maybe you could identify the women who’ve been killed by men in your constituency. There are currently 1,414 women’s names listed in my blog, 1,425 women named in the Femicide Census 10-year report. Ask your MP what they are doing to honour these women, what they are doing to end femicide, what they are doing to end men’s violence against women, girls and children. You could ask your MP what they are doing to protect specialist women-led independent services for women who have been subjected to men’s violence in your area. We can all be part of a legacy to women who have been killed by men.

My speech at the Labour Women’s Declaration Fringe Meeting at the Labour Party Conference 2022

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What do women need from the Labour Manifesto?

The last Labour manifesto fell well short of pledging to develop an ambitious strategy to end sexual and domestic violence and abuse, and prostitution.  However, it did say that a Labour government would,

“Ensure that the single-sex-based ‘exemptions’ contained in the Equality Act 2010 are understood and fully enforced in service provision.”

It also promised sustainable funding for refuges and rape crisis services. So, in that respect, whilst it wasn’t perfect it wasn’t’ bad.  It’s such a shame that two years later, the party leader couldn’t even say that only women have cervixes, which might suggest that he’d have a problem upholding a pledge to protect single-sex services.

I not here tonight to tell you what I think a strategy to end men’s violence against women and girls would look like. Suffice to say, that’s going to be my second book and I haven’t quite written it yet. Tonight, I’m here to tell you about my first book, due to be published in two months, on 25th November, called Defending Women’s Spaces.

Defending Women’s Spaces reflects my 32 years’ experience of working in specialist services for women who have been subjected to men’s violence and the research and campaigning that I’ve read and done alongside it. And my experience, like many of the women who I have worked with, and independent research: tells me that female survivors’ needs are best met in women-only spaces.

On the matter of males who transition? Do they belong in our women-only services? I say no. The minute you say that you provide access to services through gender identity, not sex, your services become mixed sex services. Males who have transitioned – if we accept that transition can be meaningful – are not a risk to women because they are trans but because they are male. The most rigorous data that we have currently on trans males and their rates of committing violent crime, tells us that at best their crimes followed the pattern of male offending, and that was only if they received psychological support as well as surgery and hormones. Without psychological support, trans males’ rates of violent offending were significantly higher than those of other males.

Defending Women’s Spaces focuses on spaces for women survivors of men’s violence though I also briefly look at other areas. I look at sex differences in perpetration of and victimisation in violence. I dismantle and disprove the myth that it is trans people who are at greatest risk of murder.  I pull apart the lie that risk assessment can make it safe for males to be included in women’s spaces. I look at how telling women victim-survivors – that someone that we all know is male is actually a woman- is nothing more than a variation of the psychological abuse done to them by the man or men who had been abusing them. I look at trauma and explain why women-only space is necessary for recovery. I also explore why so many so-called specialist service providers seem to have abandoned their principles and stopped putting women first.

Including males with trans identities in services for women can mean excluding some of the most vulnerable women who need support. We know this will mean some women will self-exclude, because they tell us.

Not all women will be subjected to men’s violence and abuse, though globally one in three of us are at some point during our life. Not all women who suffer men’s violence will develop a trauma response. We can recognise that some women need or benefit from women -only spaces more than others. It’s true that not all women who have been abused by men want women-only spaces, but surely these women should not deny that right to those who do.

Labour needs to show its commitment to ending the sex hierarchy. Labour needs grow a backbone. The Labour Party needs to commit to ending men’s violence against women; and unless or until we ever reach that utopia, we need single sex spaces for women who have been subjected to men’s violence.

2022

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119 UK women killed by men or where a man is the principal suspect

  1. 5 January 2022: Brenda Blainey, 88, was beaten, stabbed in the chest and had her throat cut at her home in in Thornton-le-Dale, North Yorkshire. Shahin Darvish-Narenjbon, 33, whom she had offered a place to stay, was convicted of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.  
  2. 6 January 2022: Judith Armstrong, 78, was found dead in a house in Herefordshire by police who were following up reports of a car hitting a lamppost. Benjamin Armstrong, 48, has been charged with her murder.
  3. 14 January 2022: Freda Walker, 86, and her husband Ken, 88, were tied up, gagged and beaten during a burglary at their home in Derbyshire. Freda died of her injuries. Vasile Culea, 34, was convicted of Freda’s murder and GBH with intent of her husband, who has since died of cancer. Culea was sentenced to 34 years.
  4. 20 January 2022: Marlene Doyle, 32, was found dead with significant head injuries at her home in Coventry. It is believed she died up to five days prior to her body discovered. Her partner Patryk Skupinski, 37, who police confirmed had a history of domestic violence towards Marlene, was convicted of murder. He was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years.
  5. 23 January 2022: Lauren Malt, 19, was run over twice by her father Nigel Malt, 44, as she tried to stop him attacking her boyfriend, outside her home in Norfolk. Nigel Malt was sentenced to 18 years for her murder.
  6. 24 January 2022: Yasmin Chkaifi, 43, was stabbed to death by her abusive ex-partner Leon McCaskre, 41. The attack took place in the street in West London. A stalking prevention order had been put in place against McCaskre.
  7. 24 January 2022: Mariam Kamara, 46, was found dead after a house fire at her home in London. She had been stabbed eight times, including wounds to her face and neck, by her husband Amidu Komora, 47. The court heard Mariam had confided in friends that she feared he would kill her. Komora was sentenced to 29 for murder and arson.
  8. 27 January 2022: Lucy Powell, 21, was found dead at home Birmingham. Her partner, Gregory Duhamel, 47, smothered her before killing himself.
  9. 28 January 2022: Marena Shaban, 41, suffered multiple stab wounds at the entrance to her home in Birmingham inflicted by her estranged husband Mohammed Arfan, 42. Arfan was convicted of her murder and must serve at least 22 years.
  10. 30 January 2022: Lesma Jackson, 84, was found at her home in Enfield, north London, with a number of injuries and died shortly afterwards. Her 50-year-old son Gareth Jackson, has been charged with her murder.
  11. 1 February 2022: Ashley Wadsworth, 19, was stabbed 90 times by her boyfriend Jack Sepple, 23, at their home in Chelmsford. Ashley had moved from Canada to be with Sepple in 2021, having first met online when Ashley was 12 years old. Sepple was sentenced to 23.5 years for her murder. 
  12. 2 February 2022: Charissa Brown, 36, died of an overdose of prescription drugs. She also had extensive bruising to her face and body from assaults by her boyfriend, Bobby Hardman, 34. He was found guilty of ABH and false imprisonment and sentenced to 4 years, plus 2 years on licence.
  13. 6 February 2022: Kathryn Harris, known is Katy, 44, was found with serious injuries at her home in Derbyshire. Her husband, Conrad Iyayi, 44, has admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He is accused of murder and is due to stand trial in March 2023. 
  14. 14 February 2022: Naomi Hunte, 41, was found stabbed to death at her home in Woolwich. Carl Cooper, 65, has been charged with murder. Cooper has also been charged with the murder of Fiona Holm, 48. She has not been seen since 20 June 2023. 
  15. 17 February 2022: Nicola Shaba, 46, died of a head wound in her home in Folkestone, Kent. Liam Petts, 24, has been charged with her murder and arson reckless as to whether life was endangered.
  16. 21 February 2022: Dawn Trusler, 45, was found dead in a property in Edinburgh. Joseph Cummings, 37, has been charged with her murder.
  17. 21 February 2022: Susan Ioannou, 58, suffered fatal injuries at a property in Enfield. Deka Omar, 23, and Philip Sherwin, 60, have been charged with murder. Police are also seeking a third man in relation to the investigation. 
  18. 24 February 2022: Valerie Freer, 68, was pronounced dead by paramedics on the driveway of her home in Lichfield, Staffordshire. She died of neck injuries. Alexander Verdu Munoz, 26, was charged with her murder and two counts of aggravated burglary. He was found dead in custody while awaiting trial. An inquest ruled Valerie was unlawfully killed.  
  19. 25 February 2022: Clair Ablewhite, 47, was found stabbed to death in her home in Melton, Leicestershire. She had met John Jessop, 26, on a dating website and she had ended the 6-month relationship a week before he killed her. He has been convicted of murder and given a minimum sentence of 17 years and 8 months.
  20. 3 March 2022: Valerie Warrington, 73, and her husband, Clive, 67, were found stabbed to death in separate locations in Gloucestershire. Their son William Warrington, 40, has been charged with their murders.
  21. 15 March 2022: Michelle O’Neill, 47, suffered multiple stab wounds to her face and neck when she was attacked by her son, Zak O’Neill, 20, at their home in Cheltenham. The day before the attack Zak had called the police and mental health Crisis Team and said he was worried he was dangerous. He was convicted of manslaughter with diminished responsibility and detained indefinitely.
  22. 17 March 2022: Sabita Thanwani, 19, was found dead in her bed in university halls in London. She had died of sharp force trauma to the neck. Her boyfriend Maher Maroufe, 22, was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
  23. 24 March 2022: Yasmin Begum, 40, was stabbed to death in her home in East London. Her estranged husband Quyum Miah, 41, was convicted of murder, aggravated by financial gain. He was sentenced to a minimum of 33 years. 
  24. 25 March 2022: Kirstie Ellis, 35, was found dead at home in Leeds. Tony Brooks, 35, pleaded guilty to her murder. Brooks was sentenced to a minimum of 24 years and nine months.
  25. 2 April 2022: Shotera Bibi, 80, was stabbed to death in Newham, East London. Subell Ali, 33, has been charged with her murder.
  26. 3 April 2022: Sherry Bruce, 58, was found seriously injured in Aberdeen and died at the scene. Thai Hoang, also known as Beaton, 24, was charged with murder and the attempted murder of his friend, Sherry’s son. He was not held criminally responsible and detained in a secure hospital.
  27. 4 April 2022: Helen Lawrie, 83, was found dead at home in Norfolk. She suffered at least one blow from a hammer. Her husband, Alexander was also found dead. A coroner ruled Helen was unlawfully killed and Alexander died of suicide.
  28. 10 April 2022: Emma Baillie, 26, was found dead in a property in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire. Peter Duffy, 46, has been charged with her murder and that of John Duffy, who was found dead in a different property.
  29. 11 April 2022: Ramona Stoia, 35, died from stab wounds to the neck in Canterbury, Kent. Police believe she was killed by her husband, Catalin Micu, 54, who also killed himself. Micu was subject to bail conditions at the time of the femicide following allegations he had raped Ramona throughout their marriage. He had also breached a non-molestation order.  
  30. 16 April 2022: Alyson Nelson, 64, was stabbed to death in Whitehead, County Antrim. William Finlay, 68, pleaded guilty to murder aggravated by domestic abuse in November 2023. He was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 20 years.
  31. 19 April 2022: Susan Farrance, 65, and her husband Jeffrey, 67, were found dead with a third man in a Buckinghamshire home. All three are reported to have known each other and no other suspect is being sought.
  32. 19 April 2022: Colette Myers, 33, suffered blunt force trauma when she was attacked by her partner James Campbell, 32, at their home in Newcastle. James Campbell was convicted of murder. He must serve at least 18 years.
  33. 22 April 2022: Katie Kenyon, 33, was last seen alive getting into a vehicle in Burnley, Lancashire. Her body was found in the Forest of Bowland on 29 April 22. Her ex-partner, Andrew Burfield, 50, killed her with an axe. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to 33 years minimum.
  34. 22 April 2022: Buddug Jones, 48, was found dead in her bed, at home in Holyhead, Wales. She died of blunt force injury to the head. Her partner Colin Milburn, 52, was convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years.
  35. 24 April 2022: Inayat Begum, 85, died of head, chest and abdominal injuries, at her home in Burnley, Lancashire. Her son Mumtaz Ahmed, 43, was convicted of murder and must serve at least 22 years.
  36. 25 April 2022: Dolet Hill, 64, was one of four family members, including her partner Denton Burke, 58, her daughter and granddaughter, stabbed to death in south London. Joshua Jacques, 28, her granddaughter’s boyfriend, has been charged with their murders.
  37. 25 April 2022: Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, was one of four family members, including her mother, her mother’s partner and her daughter, stabbed to death in south London. Joshua Jacques, 28, her daughter’s boyfriend, has been charged with their murders.
  38. 25 April 2022: Samantha Drummonds, 27, was one of four family members, including her mother, grandmother and grandmother’s partner, stabbed to death in south London.  Her boyfriend Joshua Jacques, 28, has been charged with their murders.
  39. 1 May 2022: Diana Gabaliene, 33, was found dead in a house in Lincolnshire. She had been strangled by her partner Deividas Gabalis, 40, who also killed himself.
  40. 7 May 2022: Aimee Cannon, 26, was found dead with multiple stab wounds in a house in West Lothian, Scotland. Michael Porchetta, 25, has been charged with her murder.
  41. 8 May 2022: Amanda McAlear, 50, was found dead after sustaining serious injuries, in a house in Glasgow. John Higgins, 62, has been charged with her murder. 
  42. 10 May 2022: Shannon Stanley, 27, was stabbed to death at a house in Birmingham. Pablo Hoad, 27, has been charged with her murder.
  43. 11 May 2022: Lorraine Cullen, 43, was found dead with multiple stab wounds in her home in Merseyside. A 21-year-old man was charged with murder and later detained under the Mental Health Act. Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to her death.
  44. 12 May 2022: Karen Wheeler, 62, was bludgeoned to death by her husband at their home in Birkenhead. Mark Wheeler, 51, was sentenced to 15 years and ten months for her murder.
  45. 13 May 2022: Lisa Fraser, 52, was found dead in her home in Wales. Matthew Harris, 41, was charged with her murder. On 27 May 22, Harris was found hanging in his cell. He died the following day.
  46. 17 May 2022: Ania Jedrkowiak, 21, was stabbed to death as she walked home from work. Her ex-boyfriend Dennis Akpomedaye, 29, had stalked Ania over 100 miles and attacked her in an alleyway in Ealing, west London. The trial heard that Akpomedaye had refused to accept the end of their relationship. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 29 years.
  47. 19 May 2022: Aaisha Hasan, 34, suffered at least 26 stab wounds and defensive cuts to her hands when she was stabbed to death by her husband at their home in Newham. Aaisha had kept pictures of bruises and recordings on her phone which documented her husband’s violent and abusive behaviour towards her. About a week before he killed her, Aaisha can be heard telling her husband to leave because he was going to kill her. Asim Hasan, 33, was convicted of murder.
  48. 24 May 2022: Mari O’Flynn, 79, was punched, strangled and sexually assaulted at her home in Newport, Wales. Simon Parks, 51, her son-in-law, has been convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 25 years.
  49. 31 May 2022: Julie Youel, 53, was stabbed to death by her husband at a property in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Darren Youel, 54, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to a minimum of 12 and a half years.
  50. 1 June 2022: Dr Antonella Castelvedere, 52, was stabbed 15 times by her husband Ertan Ersoy, 50, at their home in Colchester. The court heard that Ersoy had sought to control Antonella’s life. The day before her murder, Antonella wrote a note in her phone which stated that she feared for her life. Ersoy was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years.
  51. 3 June 2022: Kerry Owen, 35, was found dead by a dog walker in Hopwood, Worcestershire.  Her partner, Alan Edney, 30, subjected Kerry to an attack which fractured her nasal bone & knocked out one of her front teeth. She was also strangled during the assault. Edney was convicted of murder and must serve at least 20 years.
  52. 5 June 2022: Saira Ali, 47, was stabbed to death at her in home Sheffield, West Yorkshire. Her husband Vahid Kabiri, 43, has been charged with her murder.
  53. 6 June 2022: Unnamed Woman, [K1] 35, was found seriously injured at a property in Leeds, West Yorkshire and later died in hospital. Rawden Ibbitson, 31, has been charged with her murder.
  54. 16 June 2022: A woman in her 40s, whose name has not been released was found dying on a street in Wolverhampton. Rahul Sharma, 29, has been charged with her murder.
  55. 19 June 2022: Margaret Una Noone, 77, was found dead in the bedroom of a house in Cookstown, N. Ireland. Police said that a set of rosary beads were in her hands. The cause of her death was compression to the neck. Her son, Barry Noone, 45, has been charged with her murder.
  56. 21 June 2022: Sakunthala Francis, 89, was found dead in a house in Croydon, S. London. She had been stabbed to death. Her grandson, Verushan Manoharan, has been charged with her murder.
  57. 22 June 2022: Sally Turner, 50, was stabbed 68 times by her estranged husband at a house in Durham. Harry Turner, 53, was convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 17 years and 120 days in prison.
  58. 25 June 2022: Somaiya Begum, 20, was last seen alive. Her body was found on 6 July 2022 wrapped in carpet on wasteland in Bradford. She had been strangled and stabbed with a metal spike. Her uncle Mohammed Taroos Khan, 52, was convicted of murder.  
  59. 26 June 2022: Zara Aleena, 36, died of head and neck injuries after being attacked as she walked home in north east London. Jordan McSweeney, 29, has been charged with her murder, robbery and attempted rape.
  60. 28 June 2022: Wendy Morris, 76, was found dead with a gunshot wound to her head by medics attending to reports of an unresponsive female in Dorset. He husband, Edward Morris, 79, was also found dead with a gunshot wound. Police are not looking for anyone else.
  61. 7-10 July 2022: Abi Fisher, 29, was found dead in undergrowth after going missing in West Yorkshire. She had been strangled. Her husband, Matthew Fisher, 29, pleaded guilty to her murder. He was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison.
  62. 11 July 2022: Margaret Barnes, 71, was killed in Barmouth, Wales, after a stranger beat her up outside his home. David Redfern, 45, has been convicted of her murder.
  63. 11 July 2022: Hina Bashir, 21, was last seen alive and was reported missing on 14th July. Her body was found in a suitcase in London on 17th July. Muhammad Arslan, 26, who had wanted an intimate relationship with Hina, was convicted of murder. Hina had told him she did not want a relationship.
  64. 16 July 2022: Samantha Murphy, 37, was stabbed in a house in Margate and later died in hospital. Her partner, Thomas Allen, 38, has been charged with her murder. 
  65. 22 July 2022: Madison Wright, 30, was believed to have been killed, via methods not disclosed in media. Her partner, Gary Bennett, 36, then hid her body in a park in Basildon, Essex. He was found guilty of murder. He has been convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years.
  66. 24 July 2022: Lauren Howe, 26, died in hospital after police had found her in a property in Bradford when responding to a concern for safety call. Charlie Booth, 27, has been charged with her murder. He is also charged with threats to commit damage and malicious communications.
  67. 25 July 2022: Becci Rees-Hughes, suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma in a house in Beverley, East Yorkshire. Police believe she was killed by her partner Ben Crosby, 46, who died in a crash following a police pursuit.
  68. 26 July 2022: Mairi Doherty, 41, died in hospital three days after she was injured during ‘a disturbance’ in Dunoon, Glasgow. Kevin Campbell, 43, has been charged with her murder.
  69. 29 July 2022: Kathleen John, 39, ‘fell from height’ in Wembley, London. Leonidas Georgalla 50, has been charged with her murder.
  70. 8 August 2022: Helen Barlow, 54, was found dead at home in North Shields after it was reported that she hadn’t turned up for work. Police said she had been assaulted. Her partner Richard Leishman, 65, was also found dead. Police are treating the case as a ‘murder-suicide’.
  71. 16 August 2022: Mckyla Taylor, 27, suffered 199 injuries when she was attacked with screwdrivers by David Jackson, 66. Jackson, who had convictions dating back to the 1970s for child sexual abuse and exploitation, had a history of exploiting Mckyla and was on bail for punching Mckyla in the street when she was murdered. He was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years.
  72. 16 August 2022: Elinor O’Brien, 22, was found with a stab wound to the groin at her partner’s flat in Manchester. Kevin Mannion, 44 – who had a history of violence, abuse and controlling behaviour towards Elinor throughout their eight-month relationship – was convicted of murder, wounding with intent for an assault in which he stabbed Elinor in her breast and coercive control.
  73. 21 August 2022: Ashley Dale, 28, died in hospital after being shot dead in the garden of her home in Liverpool. It is believed she was not the intended target. Police are appealing for witnesses. 
  74. 22 August 2022: Karen Dempsey, 55, died in hospital after being stabbed in a car park in Liverpool. Her son, Jamie Dempsey, 32, has been charged with her murder.
  75. 23 August 2022: Wendy Buckney-Morgan, 71, was stabbed to death in Swansea. A 55-year-old man has been detailed under the Mental Health Act in relation to her killing.
  76. 24 August 2022: Elizabeth (Lizzie) McCann, 26, was befriended by Simon Goold, 52, and plied with drinks. She went to his flat where he raped and sexually assaulted her before strangling her with a ligature. He was sentenced to serve  a minimum of 35 years in prison for murder, rape and sexual assault.
  77. 26 August 2022: Margaret Griffiths, 87, died in hospital in Wales. Her son, John Griffiths, 57, has been charged with her murder.
  78. 27 August 2022: Susan Moore, 53, died in hospital after being found unresponsive in a property near Newport in Wales. Andrew Jenkin, 48, has been charged with her murder.
  79. 30 August 2022: Katie Hurmuz-Irimia, 40, was stabbed to death at her home in Oxfordshire by her husband Mihai Hurmuz-Irimia, 29. She suffered 171 stabs wounds or incisions in the attack. Mihai Hurmuz-Irimia was sentenced to at least 21 years for murder.
  80. 31 August 2022: Jacqueline Forrest, known as Jaki, 49, was strangled and suffered blunt force trauma when she was attacked by her partner at their home in Haydock, Merseyside. Knife wounds were found on her body and inflicted after her death. Robert Massey, pleaded guilty to murder and two counts of attempted murder of two men. He was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in prison.
  81. 3 September 2022: Patricia Bitters, 84, died in hospital after she was repeatedly punched and stamped on by her grandson at her home in Forres, Aberdeenshire. Her grandson, Scott McCulloch, 25, was convicted of murder.
  82. 6 september 2022: Susan Hawkey, 71 was last seen alive, before being found strangled and tied up in her home, in Neasden, 20 days later. The stranger, Xyaire Howard, 23, was found guilty of murder. Howard (and Chelsea Grant, 28) had robbed her before.
  83. 6 September 2022: Harleen Kaur Satpreet Gandhi, 32, was found seriously injured in a house in Leeds. Her husband Satpreet Singh Gandhi, 37, has been charged with her murder.
  84. 6 September 2022: Susan Hawkey, 71 was last seen alive, before being found strangled and tied up in her home, in Neasden, 20 days later. The stranger, Xyaire Howard, 23, was found guilty of murder. Howard (and Chelsea Grant, 28) had robbed her before.
  85. 11 September 2022: Hollie Thompson, 28, was found dead in a property in Belfast. Her partner, Christopher Morelli, 31, has been charged with her murder.
  86. 14 September 2022: Ruth Stone-Houghton, 60, and Christopher Stone-Houghton, 66, were found dead in a house in Portsmouth. Police have commenced a murder investigation with regards to the death of Ruth and are not seeking anyone else.
  87. 14 September 2022: Shakira Spencer, 35, was found dead at her home in Ealing on 25 September 22. She was subjected to a prolonged campaign of beatings, enslavement, coercion, control, humiliation and degradation over a period of months. Shaun Pendlebury, 26, Ashana Studholme, 38, and Lisa Richardson, 44, where convicted of murder and preventing a lawful burial.
  88. 15 September 2022: Jillu Nash, 44, and her 12-year-old daughter Louise, were found dead in a property in Suffolk. Jillu died from pressure to the neck and Louise from stab wounds. Their husband/father Peter Nash, 46, was found guilty their murders. He was ordered to serve at least 40 years.   
  89. 17 September 2022: Jill Barclay, 47, sustained facial injuries, blunt force trauma and strangulation before she was set on fire outside a property in Aberdeen. Rhys Bennett, 22, has been charged with her murder.
  90. 20 September 2022: Emma Potter, 40, was repeatedly stabbed in her chest, stomach, arm and leg at her home in Stroud by Joe Rankin, 33. Rankin, who was known to Emma, told a psychiatrist that he went to her home with the intention of killing her. After her death he sexually violated her body. Rankin was sentenced to a minimum of 24 years for murder.     
  91. 7 October 2022: Diana Dafter, 36, was found stabbed to death at her home in Northampton. Her husband Phillip Dafter, 32, was convicted of murder.
  92. 9 October 2022: Rebecca Steer, 22, died when she was dragged underneath a car in Oswestry, Shropshire. The driver deliberately drove into pedestrians following an earlier altercation with another group. Stephen McHugh, 28, was convicted of murder and sentenced to at least 18 years.  
  93. 12 October 2022: Hilary Round, 67, was found in her home in Ilford, east London, in an early stage of decomposition by police responding to calls about her welfare. She had been strangled to death by her neighbour, Jamie Cook, 31. Cook was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years. 
  94. 22 October 2022: Angie White, 45, was found dead in her home in Plasmarl, Swansea. She was strangled and stabbed to death. Her partner Daniel White, 35, was convicted of murder.
  95. 23 October 2022: Yolanda Saldana Feliz, 53, was stabbed to death in Stratford, east London, along with a second woman who has survived. Police were seeking Miguel Angel Alvarez Florentino, 38, in relation to the murder. A body believed to be Florentino, was pulled from a river in Newham on 28 October.
  96. 24 October 2022: Debbie Gumbrell, 59, was found with multiple stab wounds at her home in West Sussex by police responding to reports of an assault. Her husband James Gumbrell, 64, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He is expected to stand trial for murder in 2024.
  97. 30 October 2022: Caroline Adeyelu, 64, was stabbed to death by her son as she tried to defend her daughter, 33, from being attacked by him at their home in Dagenham. Her daughter sustained seven stab wounds and survived. The court found that Nicolas Aina, 28, was suffering symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the attacks. He was given an indefinite hospital order.
  98. November 2022: Sarah Albone, 38, was attacked at her home in in Biggleswade at the end of November 22. Her remains were found in a suit case inside a wheelie bin in February 2023. Her partner, Matthew Waddell, 34, was convicted of murder.
  99. 1 November 2022: Keisha Christodoulou, 32, was stabbed repeatedly and died in her flat in Deptford, S. London. Her ex-partner Leon Murray, 33, has been charged with her murder.
  100. 6 November 2022: Alexis Karran, 49, dies in hospital after being attacked in her home in Tameside.  A 48-year-old man has been detained under the Mental Health Act.
  101. 6 November 2022: Clair Armstrong, 50, was strangled to death by her partner Ashley Kemp, 55, at her home in Messingham, Lincolnshire. Clair had told Kemp to leave the house following a report to the police from a young woman stating she had been sexually assaulted by Ashley Kemp. Kemp was convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 19 years.   
  102. 6 November 2022: Jacqueline (Jackie) Rutter, 53, was shot dead at home in Merseyside. Police have said that they believed it was a targeted attack.
  103. 21 November 2022: Lorraine Mills, 63, was indecently assaulted and stabbed 48 times by her daughter’s ex-partner Richard Shaw, 48, at her home in Southampton. Shaw, who had served 17 years of a life sentence for three counts of rape and was on licence at the time of the killing, was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years for murder.
  104. 22 November 2022: Fatoumatta Hydara, 28, died in hospital two days after a fire at her home which had killed her two daughters Naeemah Drammeh, aged one, and Fatimah Drammeh, aged three. A neighbour Jamie Barrow, 31, was convicted of their murders and ordered to serve at least 44 years.
  105. 23 November 2022: Ruta Draudvilaite, 44, was found unresponsive after a fire in a house in Nelson, Lancashire. Jan Kontash, 57, has been charged with wounding with intent.
  106. 28 November 2022: Mary Andrews, 76, and her husband Bryan, were found dead in their home in Sheffield. Their son, James Andrews, 55, was convicted of double manslaughter with diminished responsibility. He was detained indefinitely.  
  107. 2 December 2022: Michelle Hanson, 47, was stabbed 29 times in her home in Sunderland by her friend, Alexander Carr, 33. Carr was sentenced to a minimum of 29 years and 3 months for murder.
  108. 5 December 2022: Maureen Gitau, 24, was last seen alive. Ex-colleague Mark Moodie, 54, was convicted of murdering Maureen at a block of flats where he worked in south-east London. Maureen’s body has not been found and is believed to have been incinerated.
  109. 8 December 2022: Cynthia Turner, 55, was stabbed in the chest by her husband Legitte Reid, 55, at their home in Tividale, W. Midlands. Ried was convicted of murder and possessing a knife. Originally, he was also charged with rape but the CPS submitted no evidence. 
  110. 14 December 2022: Anju Asok, 35, was strangled to death by her husband Saju Chevalalel, 52, at their home in Northamptonshire. After attempting but failing to poison their children with alcohol and sleeping pills, Chevalalel went onto strangle Jeeva, 6, and Janvi, 4, to death. Chevalalel was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years for their murders.
  111. 15 December 2022: Ailish Walsh, 28, was stabbed with scissors more than 40 times and hit over the head with a dumbbell by her partner Liam Taylor, 37, at her home in east London. Ailish was 22 weeks pregnant with a girl when she was murdered. The court heard that Taylor wanted a boy. He was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years.
  112. 18 December 2022: Natalie McNally, 32, was stabbed to death at her home in Lurgan. She was 15 weeks pregnant. Her partner, Stephan McCullagh, 32, is charged with her murder.
  113. 18 December 2022: Sabrina Cooper, 68, was stabbed five times by Tony King, 59, at her home in East Sussex. Sabrina believed King to be a friend. He was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years for murder.
  114. 20 December 2022: Stacey Warnock, 51, was found dead in a house inn Airdrie, Scotland. John McLaughlan, 52, has been charged with her murder.
  115. 21 December 2022: Francesca Di Dio, 20, and her partner Nino Calabro were found dead in a flat in Thornaby, N. Yorkshire. Andrea Cardinale, 21, was convicted of two counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
  116. 23 December 2022: Courtney Boorne, 20, was strangled by her partner at the home their shared in Liverpool. Liam Cain, 19, has been found guilty of murder.
  117. 24 December 2022: Elle Edwards, 26, was shot at close range with a submachine gun outside a pub in Wallasey. Connor Chapman, 22, of no relationship to Elle, was sentenced to 48 years for her murder, the attempted murder of two men, GBH, ABH and wounding with intent.
  118. 31 December 2022: Stephanie Hansen, 39, was killed by her housemate Sheldon Rodrigues, 29. She was stabbed to death and beaten with blunt instruments, at their home in Hayes, West London. He had hidden listening devices around the property to monitor and spy on her. He has been found guilty of murder. Awaiting sentence
  119. 31 December 2022: Gabriella Rudin, 75, who suffered with Parkinson’s Disease, was suffocated by her husband at their home in Cambridge. Martin Rudin, 82, was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He was given a suspended sentence.

Last updated 13 February 2024

 

Remember her too

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The speech I gave at the femicide vigil at FiLiA 2021

In the first three days of 2012, 8 women in the UK were killed through men’s violence.  Three days, 8 dead women: 3 shot, 1 stabbed, 1 stabbed and beaten so hard with her own walking stick that the wood splintered, 1 beaten, 1 strangled, and 1 smothered.

Since then, I’ve been keeping a record of the women in the UK who have been killed through men’s violence and have personally recorded the names of 1,366 women killed by men or, in cases where criminal justice process hasn’t been concluded or has been prevented, for example if the killer also killed himself, where a man is or was the principal suspect. 

I don’t think there’s a person here who won’t know the name of Sarah Everard almost everyone here will also know the name of Sabina Nessa, both women killed this year and whose deaths made national headlines.

But between Sarah and Sabina at least 77 other women were killed in circumstances where a man is held as suspect, awaiting trial or would be if he were still alive.

Do you know the name of the 84-year-old woman who was allegedly strangled by a burglar? What about the 25-year-old woman who was found dead in bags with the body of her two-year-old daughter, the two-year-old daughter who is suspected to have been sexually assaulted –  as well as another child who survived – found buried in concrete beneath someone’s floor? The 82-year-old suspected to have been stabbed by her 84-year-old husband? Or the 29-year-old, found dead in the street with stab wounds to her neck, chest and arm, killed by her husband. At least 115 UK women are suspected to have been killed by men this year. The names of most of these women are not household names.

Men’s fatal violence against women cuts across all sections of society, across ages, class and ethnicity. But, some women are afforded more empathy than others. Some are more likely to be disbelieved, to be blamed, to be sent away without the help they need.

This appalling hierarchy of victims continues into death. It is almost always the young, conventionally attractive, middle-class, white woman killed by a stranger, the perfect victim, who makes the front pages.

Not the 50-year-old from a council estate in Leicestershire, killed by the father of her children after a 30-year marriage, where her life and dignity have been chipped away, little by little, every day. Not the immigrant. Not the 45year old homeless woman with a drug problem who was sexually abused from childhood to death. We need to end the hierarchy of dead women.

And of course, that hierarchy is there in life too. Black women and disabled women are disproportionately victimised yet more likely to receive a sub-standard response from state agencies. Poor women are more likely to be blamed.

Because of the Femicide Census, we know that in the UK 92% of women who are killed by men are killed by someone they know. One in 12 (or 8%) is a woman who is killed by her son. That’s the same proportion– 8% – of women in the UK who are killed by a stranger. 62% of women killed by men are killed by a current or former partner. More than 40% of these had already left or were taking steps to leave him. More than a third of these were killed in the first month post separation, almost ¾ within the first year.

Because of the Femicide Census we know that Sarah Everard was the 16th UK woman to be killed by a serving or former police officer since 2009.  

Femicide is the killing of women, girls and female infants and foetuses, predominantly but not always committed by men. Femicide maintains men’s individual and/or collective dominant status, or reflects the lower status of females. Femicide is not just homicide of women by men, it’s about how and why women are killed and how this is different to the circumstances in which men are killed.

Do I believe it is possible to end men’s violence against women, to end femicide? I don’t know. Do I believe it is likely? No. There just isn’t the will. Patriarchal societies, in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, authority, social privilege and control of resources, ensure that power stays with the powerful and advantaged; it’s the same with socio-economic class, it’s the same with race. Sure, there will continue to be steps to address men’s violence against women and girls. And mostly these will have originated from feminists but what is implemented by the state will always be a watered-down version.

Men’s violence against women and girls is both a cause and consequence of sex inequality. Whilst perpetrators must be held responsible for their actions and behaviours; men’s violence against women is not reducible simply to individual acts perpetrated by individual men. Men’s violence against women is a key instrument of men’s domination of women, supported and normalised by patriarchal institutions, attitudes and social norms and values.

What can you do? Make politicians know you care. Make politicians know that men’s violence against women is an issue that could lose them votes. Make sure that every woman counts. Make them know that they damn well better be able to say that only women have a cervix.

Know their names. Not just Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa. But Mandeep Singh, Angela Tarver, Valerie Richardson, Mihrican Mustapha, Sammy-Lee Lodwig, Denise Keene-Simmons.

Thank you, Keira Cadwell, for creating this beautiful commemoration to women. Each heart carrying the name of a woman killed by a man, taken from my work at Counting Dead Women.

Thank you, Keira Cadwell, for creating this beautiful commemoration to women. Each heart carrying the name of a woman killed by a man, taken from my work at Counting Dead Women.

Sex differences in intimate partner homicide (England and Wales) April 2009 to March 2020

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One day, people might stop asking me ‘What about the men?’ but that day isn’t here yet. This is the third time I’ve written a blog comparing sex differences in intimate partner homicide but it’s five years since the last time and so it’s time for an update.

This information is about people aged over 16 in England and Wales who have been identified as having been killed by current or former partners by The Office of National Statistics (ONS) for the 11 years ending March 2020. I’ve used ONS data because – although the Femicide Census data for women killed by men is much richer, we do not collect data on male victims or on women killed by women – it’s important to use consistent ways of collecting information for everyone. The ONS data doesn’t break down the data for victims of intimate partner homicide by the sex of the perpetrator so I requested this from them.  

In the 11 years from April 2009 to March 2020, 1,027 people were killed by a current or former partner, defined by the ONS as when the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator falls into one of the following categories: spouse, common-law spouse, cohabiting partner, boyfriend or girlfriend, ex-spouse, ex-cohabiting partner or ex-boyfriend or girlfriend or adulterous relationship.  890 (86.7%) of the victims were female, 137 (13.3%) were male. So, for every 2 men killed, there were thirteen women.

But there are differences in who is doing the killing too. Of 137 male victims, 109 were killed by women. Of 890 female victims, 884 (99%) were killed by men. There were 912 men who killed a current or former partner and 115 women. So, one in five men (20.4%) killed by a current or former partner were killed by a man; for women, approximately one in 147 women killed by a current or former partner were killed by a woman.  Men who are killed by a current or former partner are 29 times more likely to be killed by someone of the same sex than women are.

There is a further important difference too, but this can’t be found in the ONS data. When the Femicide Census published our 10-year report on women killed by men in the UK between 2009 and 2018, we found evidence in 59% of cases that the man who killed them had been violent and/or abusive to them in the past. We think this is highly likely to be an undercount since it is not unusual for women to tell no-one that they are being abused, and also in many cases, this might not have been reported in publicly available information even if someone did know about it. The Centre for Women’s Justice looked at women who have killed current or former male partners. They found a very different picture, that in 77% of cases, it was the man who had been killed who had been abusing the woman who killed him.

So, in answer to that question: yes, sometimes women kill male current/former partners but there are four critical sex differences:

  • 87% of people killed by current or former partners are women
  • 89% of people who killed a current or former partner are men
  • Men who are killed by a partner or ex are more likely to be killed by someone of the same sex (29 times more likely)

Women are likely to have been abused by the man who killed them in the years (or sometimes months) before their deaths, men who are killed by female partners are very likely to have been abusing the women who killed them in the years of months before their deaths

Truth, lies and Storytelling

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I overheard a discussion on Radio Four’s Today programme this morning (8 June 2021) that contained such a blatant piece of misinformation imparted by Benjamin Cohen, CEO of Pink News, that I felt compelled to transcribe it.

Justin Webb: Just on the point about abolishing legal provisions for single sex spaces, do you not accept that it is perfectly acceptable for women to campaign for those single sex spaces and to say that those who have changes sex should not be in them?

Benjamin Cohen…..[Evades question and talks about something else for a few moments]   and goes on to say, over again, it’s a debate about trans issues without a single trans voice being heard

Justin Webb: Hang on number one, you don’t know anything about me; number two, I asked you a question, would you answer it?

Benjamin Cohen: Sure but, I just, I’ve made a statement, is this a debate about trans issues with no trans voice?

Justin Webb: Yeah, you’ve made your statement, now could you answer the question?

Benjamin Cohen: You made the statement which is that the provisions around who gets access to single sex spaces has changed, that hasn’t changed, the Equality Act was passed in 2010, there’s been no changes to that

Justin Webb: Yeah, hang on, what I’m suggesting is that Stonewall would like to change it, and a lot of women are worried about

Benjamin Cohen: Sorry, you just claimed that but that’s not actually true. So, Stonewall supports self-ID  (Justin Webb : Exactly) which is about, simply about paperwork, so you’ve been able to self-ID for practical purposes for the Equality Act, since 2010,

Justin Webb:  But not for instance to go to a safe space for women, like a women’s refuge, those a protected  aren’t they

Benjamin Cohen: (speaking over Justin Webb): yeah, and they continue to be protected.

Justin Webb: And does Stonewall …

Benjamin Cohen: Can you answer me a question, Justin, has Stonewall said that those spaces should be open to trans people, I don’t believe they have

Justin Webb: Well, exactly

Benjamin Cohen: this is the problem,

Justin Webb:  But hang on, I think we agree on this

Benjamin Cohen: It’s such misinformation

Justin Webb:  Hang on,  I think we agree on this in that case because, is it the case, or is it not the case that Stonewall, is campaigning for those safe spaces not to be women only?

Benjamin Cohen: They aren’t campaigning for that, that’s just misinformation being spread by a homophobic and transphobic media, I’m afraid.

The thing is, Benjamin, you’re the one that’s not telling the truth here. The extract below shows that Stonewall are campaigning or did campaign for the removal of the protection of women’s single sex spaces. This is from Stonewall’s  submission to Women & Equalities Select Committee Inquiry on Transgender Equality submitted on 27 August 2015. Stonewall’s recommendations included:

““A review of the Equality Act 2010 to include ‘gender identity’ rather than ‘gender reassignment’ as a protected characteristic and to remove exemptions, such as access to single-sex spaces”

Screenshot

(Source Woman’s Place UK, Evidence of calls to remove single sex exemptions from Equality Act: https://womansplaceuk.org/references-to-removal-of-single-sex-exemptions/)

Saying that Stonewall hasn’t campaigned for the removal of women’s single-sex spaces looks a lot like misinformation being spread by a media that doesn’t acknowledge the need for women’s single sex spaces to me. Your move, Benjamin.