The Guardian view on the rise in female homicide victims: going backwards | Editorial

Jumps in the numbers of female and child homicide victims should galvanise efforts to tackle domestic and sexual violence

New figures showing a 10% rise in the number of female victims of murder, manslaughter and infanticide in England and Wales in the year to March 2019, to its highest level for 14 years, are extremely concerning. So is an increase in the number of homicides in which the victim was under 16, to its highest level since 2004. Caution must always be taken in forming conclusions based on a single year’s figures. The human tragedies behind such data are shaped by a multitude of factors. But it is impossible not to be disappointed that violence against women and children increased during a period when the government was led by a prime minister, Theresa May, who counted domestic abuse among her personal priorities.

Almost half of the 241 killings of women and girls were domestic, with 38% involving a partner or ex-partner, while 31% of the 68 victims aged under 16 (including boys, and 30 babies aged less than one) were killed by a parent or step-parent. This figure is set to rise, as a perpetrator has yet to be confirmed in 53% of child homicides – and killings of children by strangers are very rare.

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/38w9vPK