Four in 10 women who were killed by a male partner had taken steps to leave him, figures show, as Labour’s Jess Phillips admitted the scale of violence is a “national emergency”.
A total of 122 women were killed by a man in 2022, according to the 14th annual Femicide Census, with more than half targeted by their current or former partner.
At least 40 per cent of those killed by a partner had ended the relationship or were trying to leave when they were killed.
The report’s authors warned too many dangerous men are being left at “liberty to harm, rape and kill” after the data showed almost six in 10 perpetrators were known to have a history of violence against women or were subject to monitoring or restrictions when they killed.
They include Jordan McSweeney, who had 28 previous convictions for 69 separate offences and was wanted on recall to prison when he brutally murdered Zara Aleena.
Last year an inquest found a string of failures from multiple agencies left him free to kill the aspiring lawyer, 35, as she walked home in Ilford, east London, on 26 June 2022.
Other shocking examples include a killer who was on extended licence for rape when he strangled his wife and cut her throat with a Stanley knife.
Another was under investigation for rape when he killed, sexually assaulting his victim and inflicting more than 90 injuries.
Karen Ingala Smith, who co-founded the Femicide Census in 2015 to track rates of male violence against women, said the government would have to act fast to meet their target of halving violence against women and girls (VAWG) in 10 years.
“Men who are known to be a danger to women are too frequently at liberty to harm, rape and kill,” she said.
“The Labour Party, now in government, has pledged to halve serious violence, including men’s violence against women, in 10 years. They are going to have to act fast and ambitiously to even approach that target.”
Seven in 10 women killed in 2022 were attacked in their own home and over half were stabbed to death with a sharp instrument, while almost a quarter were strangled to death.
Men used brute force in the killings of 20 women by kicking, hitting or stamping the victim to death, the figures show.
Shockingly, women are more likely to be killed by their own son than by a stranger. Figures show 10 per cent of women were killed by their son in 2022, compared to 9 per cent targeted by strangers.
However, the report warned “hidden” cases in which abused women take their own lives are often missing from the data because no court or coroner has officially linked male violence to the death.
Earlier this year, Ryan Wellings was acquitted of the manslaughter of Kiena Dawes, who took her own life after enduring two years of abuse. The 23-year-old mother left a suicide note calling her partner a “monster” who had “killed me”.
Her death in July 2022 has not been counted in the femicide data, but the report added: “Change is needed to ensure abusive men face appropriate consequences for their choices and to prevent future harm to women.”
Refuge said it was sadly no surprise that femicide rates remain so “devastatingly high” and warned leaving an abuser is often the most dangerous time for women.
“The figures in the Femicide Census report are shocking, but these numbers alone do not tell the full story,” said Ellie Butt, head of policy and public affairs at Refuge.
“Violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse, remains severely underreported, with many deaths – such as those resulting from suicide – going unrecognised.
“Many of the women we support tell us about the toll abuse has taken on their mental health, with some experiencing suicidal thoughts. And yet, despite this, deaths by suicide are still not formally recognised as domestic abuse-related deaths.
“From inconsistent and frequently inadequate police responses to the chronic underfunding of lifesaving specialist services, women are being failed across the board – with fatal consequences.
“If the government is serious about halving violence against women and girls, the upcoming VAWG strategy must transform the response to domestic abuse, so that women no longer needlessly lose their lives.”
The government is due to unveil its VAWG strategy to halve rates in a decade later this year.
Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: “The scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country by men, be it their partners, ex-partners or tragically even their own sons, is nothing less than a national emergency.
“That’s why we have pledged to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, including tackling child-to-parent abuse through an effective system to ensure problematic behaviours and victims are identified early, and services respond effectively to stop harmful behaviour from continuing or escalating.
“But we know more needs to be done, which is why our forthcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy will seek to overhaul the policing and criminal justice response to domestic abuse to ensure that more victims are protected and more perpetrators are punished.”
