How likely is it for women to be killed in a public place?

Mar 11, 2021

The disappearance and suspected murder of Sarah Everard from a south London street have raised fears among women for their safety.

Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, while acknowledging women would be concerned, tried to allay fears as she said “it is thankfully incredibly rare for a woman to be abducted from our streets”.

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The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show 188 women were killed in England and Wales between April 2019 and March 2020, making up 27% of all homicides recorded by police.

That is a 16% drop from the year before, but the figures are likely to be swayed due to successive COVID-19 lockdowns.

Women are more likely than men to be killed at home and by somebody they know, the statistics show.

Last year, 77% of women killed were in residential properties.

Men, on the other hand, are more likely to be killed in a public place.

Where a suspect was identified, 82% of female victims knew them – more than half were their partner or ex-partner.

Last year, 13% of female homicides involved those killed by strangers.

Colin Sutton, former senior investigating officer for the Metropolitan Police’s murder squad, previously told Sky News: “There are very few, thankfully, men who commit violence against women in the street, in public places.

“When they do arise, when they’re arrested and looked at it’s found that not only do they use violence against women in the street but they’ll also use violence in the home against their partner.”

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