At least 19 women were killed in suspected domestic violence attacks during the first six weeks of lockdown – an eight-year high for the period, figures reveal.
Data gathered by Counting Dead Women, a project which records the killing of women by men, identified the UK cases from March 23 to May 3.
But project boss Karen Ingala-Smith said it could be 23 as details of four deaths are yet to emerge.
Victims Commissioner Dame Vera Baird labelled the rise ‘an epidemic within the pandemic’.
She said: “It is difficult for people to escape.”
Victims include Elsie Smith, 71, stabbed on March 25 by her husband Alan, 71, before he killed himself, a Cambridge inquest heard.
And Kelly Fitzgibbons, 40, was found dead with daughters Lexi, two, and Ava, four, on March 29.
An inquest was told partner Robert Needham, 42, shot them before turning the gun on himself in Woodmancote, West Sussex.
The figure of at least 19 deaths in the six weeks compares to 12 deaths during the same period in 2019, and eight in 2018.
The Home Office pledged £2million to bolster helplines and online support on April 11, and another £28.8million for domestic violence charities on May 2.
