An 'epidemic' of violence: The women and girls killed by men last year

The BBC warns the article contains distressing details and begins with Helena looking at a school photo showing nine teenage girls, two of whom were killed by men: her daughter Isobella (Izzy) Knight and their friend Sabina Nessa.

“Warning: This article contains details of violent deaths that some readers may find distressing Helena is looking at an old photo on her phone of nine teenage girls smiling at the camera on their last day of secondary school”

BBC

To build a more human picture of the issue, the BBC tracked news reports throughout 2025 across the UK and cross-checked findings with UK police forces, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), and the Northern Ireland Courts Service.

BBC

They found males had been charged in 90 cases; among those, 24 have resulted in convictions for murder and six for manslaughter, with four people having pleaded guilty to manslaughter but still facing murder charges.

Ten incidents involved a male suspect who also died, taking the total to 100, while in another 15 cases males were arrested on suspicion of murder or manslaughter but no charges have been brought, and one other investigation is ongoing.

The BBC notes many of these stories did not make national headlines.