Rise in Matricide: Sons Suspected in Nearly One in Five UK Women’s Killings

The number of women killed by their sons in the UK has reached a 16-year high, with 19 such cases identified in the past year. This represents almost one in five of all women killed by men, a figure that has prompted calls for greater recognition of ‘matricide’ and increased support for both victims and perpetrators.

Growing Concerns Over Matricide

Labour MP Jess Phillips read out the names of 108 women killed in the UK by men – or where a man has been charged – in the past 12 months during the International Women’s Day parliamentary debate. Among those names were 19 mothers killed by their sons, marking the highest matricide rate recorded in 16 years by the Femicide Census project Counting Dead Women [source].

Clarrie O’Callaghan, co-founder of the Femicide Census, highlighted contributing factors such as the collapse in mental health care, problematic substance abuse, and housing insecurity [source]. She also noted that the men who commit matricide often have a history of abusing previous partners and may have moved in with their mothers after those relationships ended.

Lack of Recognition and Support

Despite the growing problem, O’Callaghan emphasized that no state agency has yet to formally acknowledge matricide or seize responsibility for addressing it [source]. Women are rarely recognized as being at risk of fatal violence from their sons, and there are few dedicated services for older women in the UK.

A report by the Femicide Census between 2009 and 2021 showed that over 170 mothers were killed by their sons, with mental ill health a factor in 58% of these cases [source].

Government Response and Ongoing Concerns

The government published its Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy in December 2025, which included plans to tackle harmful behaviors among boys and teach healthy relationships. Even as hailed as a “milestone,” women’s organizations have warned that it lacks sufficient funding to achieve its goal of halving VAWG in a decade [source].

O’Callaghan stated that while the strategy is a step in the right direction, many areas of intervention provided by specialist organizations have gone unrecognised. She also expressed concern that specialist women-led charities are at risk of closure due to a lack of funding [source].

The Home Office has announced it will fund and deliver an oversight mechanism for recommendations made in domestic homicide reviews (DHR) [source].