Number of women murdered in Scotland has increased

The number of women murdered or killed in Scotland last year rose by more than 15% despite homicide figures falling to a 50-year low.

Behind the headline-grabbing news that homicides were at their lowest since 1976, the number of women killed – mostly by men – rose to 15 in 2024-25 from 13 the year before (up 15.8%).

At the same time, the number of men killed fell by 31% from 44 to 30.

Scottish Government data shows that 45 people were the victims of homicide in 2024-25, 12 fewer than the 57 victims the previous year.

They initially failed to acknowledge that within that data the number of women killed during the period had risen not fallen.

Of the 45 murder victims recorded during the period, 30 (67%) were male and 15 (33%) were female. In the previous year, 13 women were murdered (2