Here’s a fact-based overview of figures in Europe on intimate partner/family-related homicides — the closest available comparable data to “murders related to divorce” (official statistics rarely classify homicides by divorce status specifically, but many do by relationship with the perpetrator).
🧠 1. Intimate partner and family-related homicides in the EU (2023)
📌 Rate per million women:
In 2023, across the European Union:
- ~4.1 women per million women were killed by family members or intimate partners.
- For men, the comparable rate was ~2.2 per million.
This shows that women are significantly more likely than men in the EU to be murdered by a partner or family member, but the overall raw rate remains relatively low compared with global figures.
📊 2. Continental context and trend
According to broader UN-based estimates for 2024:
- ~0.5 women per 100,000 female population in Europe were killed by an intimate partner or family member — lower than most other regions globally.
This suggests that while the risk exists, Europe’s intimate-partner homicide rate remains relatively low compared with global averages.
📍 3. Diversity across countries
- Rates of partner/family-related homicides vary widely within Europe. Some smaller countries like Malta, Iceland, and Croatia register higher per-capita rates of women killed by partners compared with others, while many larger EU countries (e.g., Spain, Germany, France) report lower national rates.
- Not all EU member states submit complete relationship breakdowns to Eurostat, so comparisons have limitations.
📉 4. Broader homicide trends in Europe
- Europe’s overall homicide rate has been relatively stable or even decreased over the past decade, and remains far below many other regions. Intentional homicide across the EU was around 0.8 per 100,000 inhabitants in recent years.
This means that total murders (including those by partners) are not surging dramatically across the region.
🔍 5. What the data can and cannot tell us
✅ We have solid figures on homicides by intimate partners or family members.
❌ We do not have Europe-wide official statistics that break down murders specifically by divorce status (e.g., recently divorced individuals). Most homicide reporting uses relationship categories such as current partner, ex-partner, or family member — but doesn’t explicitly link homicide rates to divorce proceedings or separation timing.
🧩 Key takeaways
- While intimate-partner and family-related homicides do occur in Europe, and women are disproportionately affected, the rates are relatively low compared with global averages.
- There’s no official Europe-wide evidence showing a broad increase in homicides specifically because of divorce— though risk can be high around separation in individual abusive relationships.
- National patterns vary significantly, and reporting limitations mean we should interpret trends with caution.
