Rates of female murder in Ireland are on the rise, according to a new study carried out by the Office of the State Pathologist (OSP).
The study, ‘Femicide in Ireland 2012-2023’ includes 97 cases of femicide, and is published in the October issue of the Journal for Forensic and Legal Medicine.
Femicide – the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender – is on the increase in Ireland, with the study finding that homicides referred to the Office for the State Pathologist rose from 19 per cent between 2012 and 2020 (1 in 5) to 29 per cent from 2021 to 2023 (3 in 10).
Researchers examined the 97 gender-based killings of women or girls referred for formal forensic post-mortem examination from 2012 to 2023, 96 of whom died at the hands of a male perpetrator.
The newly published study comes more than two years after the murder of 23-year-old Ashling Murphy, whose random killing sparked widespread shock across Ireland and further afield. Slovakian national Jozef Puska, 33, was jailed for life after he was found guilty of the primary school teacher’s murder last November.
Despite public outrage, the death toll for women killed in violent circumstances in 2022 was the highest in ten years, with 12 deaths recorded in the State, a further 2 in Northern Ireland, and one Irish woman living in London – bringing the total number to 15. Last year, a further seven women were killed in Ireland.
Overall, femicide accounted for 19 per cent of all homicides referred to the OSP from 2012 to 2023, with an average of 8 cases of femicide occurring per year. The study reported that in 42 per cent of intimate partner femicide, and 20 per cent of familial femicides, the perpetrator had a history of previous domestic violence,
Over half, 56 per cent of women, were killed by a current or former intimate partner. In 20 per cent of cases, a woman was killed by family members while women were killed by their son in 13 per cent of cases. 41 per cent of women were murdered in the home they shared with their killer.
While just over three-quarters of women were killed by a partner or family members, 12 per cent were killed at the hands of a friend or acquaintance, while in 6 per cent of cases, the perpetrator was not known to the victim.
Authors note: “Whilst prior violence is the most significant predictor of future violence, it is important to note that the occurrence of domestic violence does not equate to engagement with support services for many women.
“The social, cultural and political climate can impact a woman’s decision or ability to seek help, be it due to fear, shame, language barriers or a lack of resources. These factors often result in the lethality of the degree of violence being realised when it is too late.”
Rates of sharp force injury were significantly higher in femicides linked to sexual violence, with sharp force injuries present in 75 per cent of femicides associated with a history of sexual violence. These cases had the highest average number of injuries per case, authors said, and a significantly lower average age than that of the entire cohort (19 years versus 41 years).
The study further notes that the average age of victims was 42 years, with 64 per cent of female victims aged between 26 and 55 years at the time of their deaths.
“Femicides involving sexual violence had the lowest average age of 19 years,” the researchers added.
The study reports that in 40 per cent of familial femicides and 19 per cent of intimate partner femicides, the perpetrator had a history of mental health issues.
The highest number of femicides was recorded in 2022 with 13 cases, while 2016 had the lowest number, with two recorded cases. Murders of females were recordedd in 21 counties across Ireland from 2012 to 2023. Nearly a third of all femicide cases (32 per cent) took place in Dublin (31 killings) followed by Cork with nine, seven in Wicklow, and six in Louth.
Only 9 per cent of femicides occurred outdoors in a public setting. Domestic femicide — the killing of a woman by a current or former partner, family member or cohabitant of their home — accounted for 74 per cent of cases
“These findings reinforce the unfortunate reality that home is not always a place of refuge for women and girls,” authors said.
“The true scale of gender-based violence against women remains largely hidden due to a lack of focused official statistics and a clear definition of femicide. As populations become more diverse, and displacement secondary to environmental, or humanitarian crises becomes more common, it is essential that official data is collected in order to understand and ultimately prevent gender-based violence in this vulnerable cohort,” authors said.
While some countries recorded static rates, Ireland is among the countries which has seen a rise. The study also points out there is no definition of femicide within the Irish legal system and Ireland is one of many countries that lack specific national statistics regarding femicide rates.
Authors add: “Femicide is a complex and multifactorial issue that is often a deadly mix of sociocultural, personal, financial and psychological factors and is seldom the acute manifestation of a psychiatric disorder in the perpetrator.”
The study recommends a “plan to formally collect up-to-date and continuous data pertaining to national femicide rates” in order to maximise the accuracy of global femicide data.
This, authors say, will “allow emerging trends to be identified, comparisons to be made between countries and determine the need for additional legislation and supports to protect the victims of gender-based violence.”