Current partners most common killers in femicide cases

A current partner killed 24 of the 55 women identified as victims of femicide in Malta between January 1970 and September 2026, according to the Malta Observatory on Femicide.

In 13 cases, the victims were murdered by an ex-partner, the data shows.

“Most killings occurred in a private residence,” researchers at the observatory said. “Nearly half of all victims (27 cases) were killed in their own home, while a further 17 were killed elsewhere outdoors and others in another house or the perpetrator’s home.”

A sharp instrument was used in 24 of the killings (44%). Strangulation or asphyxia accounted for 11 (20%) and a firearm for 10 (18%).

The 55 victims were killed by 61 perpetrators. “The overwhelming majority of perpetrators were male (93%),” the researchers said.

An unofficial count

The figures are not official statistics. Malta has no national dataset on femicide, and the observatory compiles its count from public sources.

“Given the absence of a dedicated official national dataset on femicide, information is primarily compiled from publicly available sources, including newspaper reports, court proceedings, and other forms of grey literature,” the researchers told MaltaToday.

Nonetheless, these figures provide valuable insights into recurring characteristics of these crimes.

Observatory member Emily Victoria Galea said the observatory defines femicide as “the killing of a woman because she is a woman, including trans persons”.

What the data cannot show

Observatory member Christine Marchand Agius said nine victims experienced prior violence or threats and were known to police, while four were known to support services. One victim had a protection order in place. There were 10 cases of prior domestic violence by the same perpetrator and seven of prior stalking.

“These figures should be considered an undercount rather than a definitive measure,” she said. The absence of information in the available sources “does not necessarily mean that no prior abuse, reporting, or safeguarding measures existed”.

Marchand Agius said partner killings were not the only form of femicide. There were four killings in the context of robbery and one in the context of sexual violence. Three cases involved murders by family members. Nine primary victims survived, she said, and attempted killings are “likely underrepresented in the dataset”.

Femicide law

It was following the brutal murder and rape of 29-year-old Paulina Dembska on 2 January 2022 by an assailant in Sliema that Malta introduced femicide as an aggravating circumstance in its Criminal Code.

The first person to be charged under the new femicide law was Roderick Cassar, 43, who shot his ex-wife, Bernice, at point blank range as she drove to work in Corradino. The murder happened on 22 November 2022. She had filed several police reports against her former husband, including one the day before she was murdered.

Cassar eventually pleaded guilty to the murder and was jailed for 40 years. Meanwhile, criminal proceedings against Dembska’s murderer are still ongoing.