Domestic abuse killings 'more than double' during COVID-19 lockdown

Nearly three times as many women were killed by men during three weeks of coronavirus lockdown.

Karen Ingala Smith, the founder of Counting Dead Women, a project that records the killing of women by men in the UK, has identified at least 16 killings between 23 March and 12 April, including those of children.

Looking at the same period over the past 10 years, Smith’s data records an average of five deaths.

Her findings for 2020, which are collated from internet searches and people contacting over social media, were raised during evidence to the home affairs select committee on Wednesday 15 April.