Number is nearly one in 10 of all women killed by men, leading to calls for government action to tackle matricide
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Nearly one in 10 of all women who died at the hands of men in the UK over the past 15 years were mothers killed by their sons, a report reveals.
Data analysing the deaths of 2,000 women killed by men since 2009 has given an unprecedented insight into the hidden scourge of matricide, with more than 170 mothers killed by their sons.
61% of women were killed by a current or former partner, 9% of women were killed by their sons, 6% by other family members, 15% by other men they knew and 10% by someone they did not know. Of the 213 women killed by a close family member, 80% were mothers killed by sons.
Nearly half of women were stabbed, 27% strangled and 17% hit with a blunt instrument. In 16% of cases, a man used kicking, hitting or stamping as the weapon. In almost a quarter of cases, more than one form of violence was used.
Overkill – the use of excessive, gratuitous violence beyond that necessary to cause the victim’s death – happened in 59% of femicides.
Leicestershire had the highest rate of femicide over the period, followed by Merseyside, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and London.
Killed women involved in prostitution were younger and less likely to have been born in the UK.
Children witnessed at least 163 femicides, while 37 women were killed alongside 53 children, most commonly by their father.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
