Most women who kill their partners were facing abuse, data shows
NSW research on 336 intimate-partner homicides found 99 per cent of women who killed their partners were themselves being abused.
New data from the NSW Coroner's Domestic Violence Death Dashboard reveals a stark pattern: when women kill their partners, they are almost always acting against an abuser. The dashboard examined 2,234 homicides between 2000 and 2026, identifying 336 intimate-partner killings.
Of the 293 women killed, nearly all were murdered by their abuser. Of 75 men killed by partners, 65 were killed by women, and 73 per cent of those men were the primary abuser in the relationship.
The research underscores the desperation that often drives women to violence: they are usually fighting for survival, not committing crime.
- 73 per cent were primary abuser
- Men killed by women
- 99 per cent were abused by their killer
- Women killed by partners
Why it mattersThe data challenges misconceptions about women and violence, showing that women who kill are typically responding to abuse, not initiating it, crucial context for courts and the public.
AustraliaNSW's new dashboard honours victims and informs how Australia understands domestic violence; the data directly challenges recent political claims that domestic violence is mutual.
Corroborated bytheage.com.au·watoday.com.au
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