Sons were suspects in almost one in five killings of UK women in last year, study shows

"Among the names, which are recorded by the Femicide Census project Counting Dead Women, are 19 mothers killed where their son is the suspect – the highest matricide rate recorded in 16 years of Femicide Census data. Clarrie O'Callaghan, co-founder of the Femicide Census, said the organisation had watched in horror as it witnessed the growing problem of matricide in the UK, pointing to the collapse in mental health care, problematic substance abuse and housing insecurity as contributing factors."

"Often the men who have killed their mothers have histories of abuse of their earlier partners, so they had moved in with their mother after those relationships broke down, she said. However, despite our reporting on matricides for 10 years, no state agency has yet to acknowledge matricide, let alone take responsibility for tackling it."

"Women are rarely recognised as being at risk of fatal violence from their sons and there are few dedicated services for older women in the whole of the UK. Last year, the Guardian revealed that nearly one in 10 of the women who died at the hands of men in the UK over the previous 15 years were mothers killed by their sons."

Jess Phillips will read the names of 108 women killed by men in the UK over the past 12 months during the International Women's Day parliamentary debate, with 19 of these victims being mothers killed by their sons. This matricide rate is the highest recorded in 16 years according to the Femicide Census project. Contributing factors include mental health care collapse, substance abuse, and housing insecurity. Many perpetrators have histories of abusing previous partners and moved in with their mothers after relationship breakdowns. Despite a decade of reporting on matricides, no state agency has acknowledged or taken responsibility for addressing this issue. Few dedicated services exist for older women at risk in the UK.

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