By Kate McGoldrick , SallyAnne Collis , Linda Mulligan

Introduction: Femicide represents the dramatic end-point on a spectrum of violence against women and is an increasingly prevalent medico-legal issue. Whilst there is no definition of femicide in the Irish legal system, femicide can be understood as the gender-based killing of women or girls The pervasiveness of gender-based violence against women is a growing cause for concern with 2018 estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealing that 1 in 3 women have experienced Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Femicide remains poorly defined and underreported worldwide due to enduring stigmatization, shame, and a lack of official statistics addressing national femicide rates. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore Irish cases of femicide, quantify the prevalence of femicide in Ireland, and identify any emerging trends over 12 years. Methods: All homicides referred to the Office of the State Pathologist (OSP) from 2012 to 2023 were reviewed and a total of 97 cases of femicide were identified and included in this study. Results: Femicide rates increased from 1 in 5 (19 %) homicides referred to the OSP in 2012–2020 to 3 in 10 from 2021 to 2023 (29 %). Domestic femicides accounted for 74 % of cases, with 41 % of women murdered in the home they shared with their killer. 56 % of women were killed by a current or former intimate partner and 20 % by a family member. Sharp force injuries were present in 75 % of femicides associated with a history of sexual violence. These cases had the highest average number of injuries per case (n = 30) and a significantly lower average age than that of the entire cohort (19 years versus 41 years). Conclusion: 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, official data must be collected in order to understand and ultimately prevent gender-based violence in this vulnerable cohort.  

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine Volume 107, October 2024, 102754

By Néstor García-Barceló, Miguel Ángel Alcázar Córcoles, Javier Revuelta Menéndez, Penny Woolnough, José Luis González Álvarez 

The study explores in depth the relationship between missing persons’ psychosocial and criminological characteristics/circumstances and violent-fatal outcomes (suicide and homicide). A relational analytical explicative study of 929 cases and controls was designed using a retrospective and stratified design. Data gathering was conducted through the content analysis of judicial and police information, as well as the development of psychological autopsy techniques and semi-structured interviews with the persons involved in the missing person cases including offenders in prison. Bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques were utilized for analyses. The findings showed that there are different risk and protective factors which can distinguish between a good state of health, suicide, and homicide outcomes. This research entails implications for prevention and police risk assessment systems.. 

European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research (2024) 30:545–565 

By 
Richard C Harruff, Robert Johnston, and U L M S Perera 

Asphyxia due to strangulation is an uncommon but important modality of homicide that tends to disproportionately involve female victims. The present study was designed to investigate the circumstances, motivations, and injuries associated with strangulation homicides of females and to measure trends in incidence over time. Electronic records of the King County Medical Examiner's Office in Seattle, Washington, were used to compile a data set of all homicides in King County from 1995 through 2022. A second data set of female homicides due to strangulation was constructed with additional records prior to 1995, supplemented with data abstracted from autopsy reports, and linked to the Washington Attorney General's Office Homicide Investigation Tracking System database. This comprehensive data set was used to analyze demographics, circumstances, motives, and injuries of female strangulation homicides from 1978 through 2016. The results found that, from 1995 through 2022, females accounted for 22.8% of 2394 homicides but 80.3% of strangulation homicides. The average annual rate of all strangulation homicides decreased until 2020. Mean ages of female decedents were 27.7 years in homicides associated with sexual assault, 36.8 years with domestic violence, and 63.9 years with robbery. Lethal assaults most often occurred in private homes, and perpetrators were usually well known to the victim. Injuries included petechiae in 83%; ligature marks in 20%; fingernail marks in 1.4%; hyoid fractures in 23%; and thyroid cartilage fractures in 31%. Fractures were more common in manual strangulation and in decedents of ages over 40 years.

Journal of Forensic Sciences. January 2024, 6pg