In 2025, there have been six confirmed cases so far where women have been murdered by either a current or former partner, according to preliminary figures from the police. National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh emphasizes that the figure must be interpreted with caution.
The year is not over and there are also a number of death investigations underway, so we don't have a clear result yet, she says.
Murders have decreased
At the same time, it can be noted that fatal violence against women in close relationships has decreased in recent years in Sweden.
From the early 1990s until the 2010s, around 20 women were murdered by a current or former partner each year. Between 2010 and 2021, that dropped to an average of 15 murders each year. Since then, it has declined further.
In recent years there have been an average of ten murders, says Petra Lundh.
It is difficult to say what the decrease is due to, and since there are relatively few cases, no firm conclusions can be drawn. However, the police have worked to strengthen preventive work against intimate partner violence in several ways in recent years.
A large part of the work at the national level has been carried out within Operation Beta, a special initiative against violence in close relationships, which last year published a report analyzing 17 murder cases in detail.
We went through each murder in detail as far back as we could, and we have learned lessons from there to really increase our knowledge of our working methods, says Lundh.
Inadequate risk assessments
The report revealed shortcomings such as poor information sharing between authorities, inadequate risk assessments and the fact that police reports were not always made. It also highlighted measures that are crucial for good investigations into domestic violence.
This involves early detention of suspects, and the appointment of a victim advocate early in the process to directly support the victim. Proper and documented interviews with victims on site are also crucial, says Petra Lundh.
If we have an interrogation that is recorded in close proximity to the incident, our chances of prosecuting the person increase, even if the injured party then no longer wants to be involved.
There has been a slight decrease in the number of intimate partner murders in Sweden in recent years.
2019: 18 murders (16 women, 2 men)
2020: 17 (13 women, 4 men)
2021: 19 (15 women, 4 men)
2022 10 (all women)
2023: 10 (all women)
2024: 13 (11 women, 2 men)
Source: Police
