900 women have been killed by men in England and Wales over the past 6 years

The Femicide Census has been published (posed by models) CREDIT: ALAMY

• Telegraph Reporters -7 DECEMBER 2016 • 12:33PM

The first detailed analysis of deadly violence used against women in England and Wales has been published and it makes for sombre reading.

More than 900 women were killed by men in over a six year period, according to The Femicide Census, which has tracked and analysed how, why and by who women are killed. The research found that between 2009 and 2015, 936 women were killed by men and, of those, 64 per cent were killed by current or former partners. Eight per cent were killed by their sons.

The data, compiled by Women’s Aid and nia, a charity dedicated to ending violence against women, has showed that women are at significant risk when they separate from an abusive partner. About three quarters of those killed by their ex-partner or ex-spouse (76 per cent) were killed within the first year following their separation. Frequently these murders have been premeditated and follow a pattern of violence and abuse that terrorise the victim.

Polly Neate, the chief executive of Women’s Aid, said: “The killing of women, especially when women are killed by an abusive partner or ex-partner, is often reported as an isolated incident. There is an abject failure to look at patterns of behaviour.

“We accept fatal male violence as an inevitability, not a conscious choice that a man has made to end a woman’s life. This dangerous culture needs to change. We need to learn the lessons. And by viewing these cases of femicide altogether, we can learn.

“Our initial analysis shows that these killings are not isolated incidents; too many of them followed a similar pattern of violence and were premeditated. Many were committed in similar settings, similar weapons were used, and similar relationships existed between the perpetrators and victims.”

The census found the murder weapon most used in cases of femicide was a sharp instrument and the second most common method was strangulation. Less than a quarter of cases were committed by men not related to their victims such as a friend, colleague, neighbour or stranger.

Femicide is generally defined as the killing of women because they are women. It has been identified globally as a leading cause of premature death for women, yet there is limited research on this issue.

The Global Study on Homicide in 2011 indicated that, while there had been a decrease in the number of homicides worldwide, there had been an increase in the number of femicides.

The hope is this census will inform police training and ensure the seriousness of threats of violence and killing are recognised, taken seriously and perpetrators are prosecuted. It may also help reduce victim-blaming.

Karen Ingala Smith, chief executive of nia, said: “Looking at official statistics, it was overwhelmingly clear that we were not naming man’s fatal violence against women and we were not counting its full extent.

“The Femicide Census reveals the bigger picture, and we can see clear patterns and links across the spectrum of men’s violence against women.”