Nine out of 10 Irish women murdered knew their killer

Women are more likely to be killed in their own homes than anywhere else.

On Friday, Women's Aid released their latest report, titled A Legacy of Loss - Femicide Watch 2019. Data from the report reveals that five women had died violently in Ireland so far in 2019 (as of 11 November). Women's Aid also found that 230 women had died violently in Ireland since they started gathering data in 1996, averaging out at 10 violent deaths each year. Among the key findings was the stark reality that 141 women have died in their own homes (61%) over that period of time, meaning that women are more likely to be killed in their own homes than any other location. 56% of resolved cases of femicide also involved a victim being killed by a current or former male intimate partner. According to Women's Aid, this "fits a global pattern and is in stark contrast to male homicide victims, the majority of whom are killed by strangers". In the 20 cases where a woman was killed by a male relative, 16 were killed by their sons. Women's Aid CEO Sarah Benson, speaking at the launch of the report, said: "While reiterating that one death is one too many, it is important to note that the numbers of women murdered appear to be reducing - certainly in the last decade compared to the decade prior to that. "We may not have a clear way to definitively determine causal factors, but it is important to reflect on what might we already be doing better now that we were 20 years ago? "What can we take encouragement from? What can we build on? In recent years we have opened up the public discussion about domestic abuse, which I hope has reduced the serious stigma victim survivors feel, and encouraged more to seek support and speak out." The report can be read in full here.