A woman murdered every week in 2024: the tragic toll of gender-based violence

BarcelonaIt is the lowest figure in recent years, but it is still "unacceptable." A woman was murdered due to domestic violence in Spain every 7.6 days last year, in 2024. This is underlined by theReport on fatalities from gender and domestic violence within a couple or ex-couple which was made public this Monday morning by the Observatory of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) in Madrid. There are 48 fatalities in total, of which 25 percent lost their lives in crimes that occurred in small municipalities with fewer than 25,000 inhabitants, according to the report.

The president of the Observatory, Esther Erice, and the member of the CGPJ, Esther Rojo, have highlighted that the study shows a decline in the second half of the historical series (2014-2024), which last year marked a minimum since these developed countries began recording them in 2003. "They continue to be unacceptable," they stated. Between 2003 and 2013, the annual average of this type of murder was 65.9, while between 2014 and 2024 the figure drops to 52.4. Considering the entire period analyzed, the average is 58.7 women murdered per year.

Fifteen of the 48 victims had filed prior complaints against their attackers. In eight cases, the victim was still living with the attacker at the time of the crime. And in five specifically, even though a restraining order was in force against them. According to data from the CGPJ (General Council of Justice), the percentage of foreign women who had filed complaints (33.3%) is still higher than that of Spanish women.

Regarding the profile of the 2024 victim, the average age of the woman was 44, three years older than the average for the historical series. Half of the murdered women were Spanish, a figure that also far exceeds the average for the series, which stands at 35.8%. Among the foreign victims, 45% were originally from the Americas, 29.2% from Europe, and 25% from Africa.

The majority of crimes, almost 50%, were committed with a knife, while a firearm was used in 20% of cases. 76% of the murders were committed at home. Furthermore, in three out of four cases, the victim also shared a home with the assailant.

The profile of the assailants

Another fact highlighted in the Observatory report is that in 70% of cases, the aggressor was a man older than the victim. Practically 65% of the murderers were Spanish men, with an average age of 49 years (the youngest aggressor was 17 and the oldest, 86). One in four perpetrators of this type of crime also decided to end their own life, another 50% were arrested, and 12% decided to voluntarily surrender to the police.

According to the report's authors, 2024 is considered a "particularly tragic" year in terms of vicarious violence—against children with the aim of causing pain to the mother—with nine murders in total, bringing the number of crimes committed since 2013 to 62. The number of murders in the last 10 years is estimated to be 100% for the year. In four cases, the minors lived with the attacker, and seven of the nine murdered children were also the biological children of the attackers.

Finally, the CGPJ reports that in 2024, four men were also murdered by their female partners or ex-partners, bringing the total number of such cases since 2009 to 121. Three of the murdered men were Spanish and lived with their attackers.