March 05, 2025 | Incident and Crime Statistics , Violence Against Women and Girls
Request Number: FOI/13841
Category: Incident and Crime Statistics - Violence against Women and Girls
Subject: Femicide and domestic homicide
Request and Answer:
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1 (1 )(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) does hold information to which your request relates.
However the decision has been made not to supply the information you have requested as the Information is Reasonably Accessible by Other Means. Therefore Section 21 of FOI Act applies and our rationale is set out in more detail below.
We have also provided you with links to guidance issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, which we have followed in responding to your request.
Request 1
Most recent data available on femicide rates for Northern Ireland.
Request 2
Most recent data available on domestic homicides (gender and relationship to victim breakdowns).
Request 3
Information on how many incidents/crimes of coercive control occurred over the same (or similar) time frame.
Answers 1 – 3
Requests 1 – 3 are being refused as the Information is Reasonably Accessible by Other Means. Please see our rationale below.
Figures for homicides with a female victim, for the previous 24 months, are published in Tables 4 and 5 of our monthly Police Recorded Crime bulletins. The total number of homicides with a female victim, and those which involved a domestic motivation, are provided. The bulletin is published on the PSNI website:
https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications-and-reports/official-statistics/police-recorded-crime-statistics
The number of domestic homicides, broken down by the victim-offender relationship, is available for each financial year from 2007/08 to 2023/24 in Table 3.9 of the spreadsheet which our annual Trends in Domestic Abuse Incidents and Crimes bulletin. This bulletin is published on the PSNI website:
https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications-and-reports/official-statistics/domestic-abuse-statistics
Figures for the Domestic Abuse Offence (Controlling or Coercive Behaviour) are published in Table 5 of the spreadsheet which accompanies our quarterly Domestic Abuse Incidents and Crimes bulletin. This bulletin is published on the PSNI website:
https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications-and-reports/official-statistics/domestic-abuse-statistics
Exemption explained
Section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires the Police Service of Northern Ireland, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:
(a) states that fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if not otherwise apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemption/s, as well as the factors the Department considered when deciding where the public interest lies, are listed below:
Section 21(1) - Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means - Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt information.
The full text of exemptions can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk and further guidance on how they operate can be located on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk.
Request 4
Do the PSNI have a definition of femicide? What is it?
Answer 4
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) does not hold information in relation to your requests. Enquiries made in relation to your request failed to locate any records or documents relevant to your request based on the information you have provided.
In respect of crime statistics PSNI record homicides regardless of the gender. However when asked a question about femicide PSNI use the normative definition and respond in those terms.
Accordingly, we have determined that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does not hold the information to which you seek access.