Northern Ireland

Charity warns of ‘shocking’ femicide levels as four women killed in six weeks

Kelly Andrews, CEO of Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid, described Mary Ward’s death and the number of women killed here recently as “shocking”

Kelly Andrews from Women’s aid at the scene on Tuesday, Mary Ward was found dead by police officers at her home on Melrose Street on 1 October. PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
Kelly Andrews from Women’s aid at the scene on Tuesday, Mary Ward was found dead by police officers at her home on Melrose Street on 1 October. PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
By Conor Coyle

The head of Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid has hit out at the “shocking” levels of femicide in Northern Ireland after a fourth woman was murdered in the last six weeks.

Mary Ward, a 22-year-old mother of one, was found dead in her south Belfast home on Tuesday October 1, the 24th woman killed in the north since 2020 according to the charity.

The PSNI have launched a murder investigation, while the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is investigating how the force dealt with a previous report of a “violent incident” on Ms Ward in the weeks before her death.

Kelly Andrews, CEO of Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid, described the latest murder and the number of women killed here recently as “shocking”.

“When I saw the news this morning I just couldn’t believe that we have had four women murdered here in the last six weeks,” Ms Andrews said.

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“It’s just absolutely shocking and I just can’t imagine the pain Mary’s family are going through at the moment.

“Mary was just 22 and a really beautiful girl and it’s just really shocking to see another woman killed.

“This could happen to anyone, and if we are really serious about tackling femicide we need to call it out, particularly men. This could be anyone’s sister, wife or mother.

“On one hand we have the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and other strategies and action plans, but women are still being murdered in their homes. We need to do more to hold perpetrators accountable.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher, Head of the PSNI’s Public Protection Branch , said the murder of Ms Ward was “appalling”.

“This is absolutely appalling. Four families have been shattered forever by meaningless violence,” Ms Fisher said.

“As a Police Service we recently revised our Tackling Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Action Plan and adopted the new national framework to align our response to this violence with that of terrorism and serious and organised crime. The level of violence and loss in Northern Ireland demands nothing less.

“We are absolutely determined that we will be relentless in our pursuit of the perpetrators.”