Domestic abuse can be a hard crime to quantify, given that it mostly takes place behind closed doors. But we can get an indication of how prevalent the problem is from statistics, including the fact that in 2019 more than 4,000 women sought help from Refuge, the UK’s largest provider of shelters for domestic abuse victims.

And now we have a new statistic which, depressing as it is, could help shed even more light on the problem. The Office for National Statistics has just released data which shows that the number of female homicide victims increased from 220 to 241 in the 12 months to March 2019, an increase of 10%. It’s the second consecutive annual increase, and the highest number for more than a decade, despite the overall number of homicides falling by 5% overall.

The government’s statistics also showed that women were more likely to be killed by a partner or ex-partner with 38% of cases (80 homicides), while men were more likely to be killed by a friend or acquaintance (27%, 105 homicides). Almost half – 99 victims, around 48% – of adult female homicide victims were killed in a domestic homicide, a rise of 12 homicides compared with the previous year.

The number of women being murdered is at its highest level for more than a decade. Something has to change