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The Guardian
25-03-2025
- The Guardian
Domestic abusers driving more victims to suicide, warn police
Domestic abusers are driving their victims to suicide, police have warned as they admitted to past mistakes and pledged to investigate more 'hidden' cases of violence against women. The concession came as a new report revealed that deaths by suicide among victims of domestic abuse surpassed the number of people killed by an intimate partner for a second year in a row. The 1,012 domestic abuse-related deaths recorded in the past four years were described as a 'grim milestone' by Louisa Rolfe, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) lead for domestic abuse. She said it showed 'how deeply ingrained violence against women and girls is in our communities'. Of the 262 domestic abuse-related deaths recorded in England and Wales between the start of April 2023 and the end of March last year, 98 were classified as suspected victim suicide following domestic abuse (SVSDA). The latest report by the Domestic Homicide Project, which is funded by the Home Office and led by the NPCC using live police records, also examined deaths where someone had fallen from a height. Twenty-two such deaths were recorded across 13 forces during the four-year period. Of these, 36% were recorded as SVSDA and 27% as unexpected deaths. Three of the women who died from a fall were pregnant at the time of their death, a proportion the report called 'notably' high, considering that just five women in the entire four-year sample were pregnant. The analysis was carried out in collaboration with the campaign group Killed Women, which has pushed for domestic abuse to be a key line of inquiry for police investigating any death of a woman who has fallen from a height. In 2024, the Guardian's Killed Women Count campaign reported on every woman allegedly killed by a man. At the end of the year, the number of deaths stood at 80. Rolfe, a Metropolitan police assistant commissioner, told a briefing that she expected to see a rise in the number of manslaughter convictions as a result of a new 'unexpected deaths policy', which will prompt officers to consider whether domestic abuse could have been a contributing factor in an individual's death. She said there was a challenge in Britain's 'adversarial' legal system when it came to proving beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a causal link between domestic abuse and someone taking their own life. 'Of course, the burden of proof should sit with the prosecution,' she said. 'But what's really clear from the research and speaking with families is that in the past, in too many cases, investigators have missed obvious patterns of coercive, controlling behaviour. 'I don't think police are missing homicides that are staged [to look like] suicide. However, it's very clear that there is more for us to do to be really curious about what's happened, to ensure that evidence at the scene of an incident is very thoroughly captured and explored.' Rolfe also said that she wanted 'to be able to answer victims' families' questions and be able to look them in the eye and say that every possible line of inquiry was followed'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion She added: 'I've met some incredibly impressive families who have felt they themselves have needed to investigate after their loved one's death, and that's wrong, because that's our job, and we must do that.' The report also revealed that 68% of victims and/or perpetrators of domestic abuse were known to the police or another agency, and called for better information-sharing to prevent future deaths. In 54% of domestic homicides, the perpetrator was already known to the police, and in 90% of SVSDA cases involving a history of coercive and controlling behaviour, the suspect had previous contact with agencies other than the police. The proportion of deaths that were killings by current or former partners remained at about 30% across the four-year period, the report found. The 1,012 domestic abuse-related deaths recorded over the four years include 501 domestic homicides – 332 by current or ex-partners and 169 by another adult relative. The most commonly recorded risk factors in relation to suspects were mental ill health, a history of coercive and controlling behaviour, alcohol use and drug misuse. Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: 'The better we understand the links between domestic abuse and homicides, suicides and unexpected deaths, the better equipped we are to prevent them from happening in the first place.' If you are experiencing domestic abuse you can contact the Refuge freephone 24-hour national domestic abuse helpline: 0808 2000 247 or visit In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 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
The Guardian
06-03-2025
- The Guardian
One in eight women killed by men are over 70, report reveals
One in eight women killed by men in the last 15 years were aged over 70, figures show, with a specialist charity reporting a growing number of older victims of domestic abuse seeking help. A landmark report, released ahead of International Women's Day by the Femicide Census, delves into the deaths of 2000 women killed by men. It shows that 262 women over the age of 70 have been killed since 2009. Among them were Margaret Biddolph, 78, and Anne Leyland, 88, who were killed by debt-ridden taxi driver Andrew Flood in Southport in 2012. In 2018 Craig Keogh, 26, raped and murdered a 72-year-old before burgling her home. They also include older women who were also subjected to extreme sexual violence. In 2024 the Guardian's Killed Women Count campaign reported on every woman allegedly killed by a man. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that 375,000 people aged over 60 in England and Wales reported domestic abuse between April 2022 to March 2023. But a lack of media focus and specialist services meant the abuse of older women was often hidden and unexplored, said Karen Ingala Smith, co-founder of the Femicide Census. 'The deaths of older women don't get enough attention,' she said. 'I think that the vulnerability of older women, either living on their own or in care homes, isn't properly recognised.' Research by Prof Hannah Bows at Durham University showed that between 2010 and 2015, one in four domestic homicides involved a victim over the age of 60, with women more likely to be victims and men perpetrators. 'This is particularly significant when you consider that people aged 60+ accounted for around 18% of our population at the time, but made up 25% of all domestic homicides,' she said. 'So the idea that older people are less at risk of being murdered isn't borne out by the data.' According to Age UK, nearly two-thirds (63%) of adult family homicide victims are aged 55 and over, with older people as likely to be subjected to abuse from an adult child or grandchild as they are from an intimate partner. 'It is both shocking and tragic,' said Caroline Abrahams, the charity's director. 'Older people are often overlooked in domestic abuse policies and services because their experiences don't always match stereotypical perceptions of domestic abuse.' Veronica Gray, deputy CEO at Hourglass, a charity working to prevent abuse of older people in the UK, said call demand had increased by 50% over the past two years. 'Whether that is due to increased awareness, or an increase in cases, it is probably impossible to tell,' she said. 'But I think it's likely that with an ageing population there is more widespread abuse.' Older women may also be less likely to disclose abuse, whether by a partner, child or grandchild, said Prof Sarah Lonbay, an expert in domestic abuse of older people at the University of Sunderland. Her research with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) revealed that the abuse of some older victims had started when it was still considered a 'family matter'. She said: 'When they become older they may be less likely to contact services or disclose their experiences because they feel like they might not be believed, might be dismissed, or they might feel that actually they're taking services away from younger women who need it more.' Femicide Census' report also showed that older women are more likely to be killed during a burglary than younger women, with 67% of women killed in the context of a burglary over the age of 60. These women were likely to be linked to 'vulnerability that comes with their age: they are more likely to live alone and to be physically less strong,' according to the report. Yet how women were killed during burglaries suggests that their deaths were not unintentional and were strongly linked to misogyny, said the report. In the killings of women over 60 by a stranger during a robbery, nearly half involved overkill, the use of excessive, gratuitous violence beyond that necessary to cause the victim's death. At least four of the killings included sexual violence. 'We have to ask why we see the use of sexual and sustained violence against elderly women who are unknown to the much younger men who kill them,' said Ingala Smith. 'The misogynistic intent in these killings is clear.'
