125 violent deaths in Netherlands last year; Women mostly killed by partners, exes

Last year, 125 people in the Netherlands died as a result of murder or manslaughter - 84 men and 41 women. That is 18 fewer victims than a year earlier but around the average of the past decade (129 violent deaths per year). During that period, over half of women victims were killed by their partner or ex. Children were almost always killed by a parent, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported.

The number of murder and manslaughter victims in the Netherlands has been falling for years. In 1996, 171 men and 69 women were violently killed. “There was a sharp decline, especially among men, until 2016, with annual fluctuations.” After a peak in 2017, the number of male victims stabilized at an average of 84 per year. The number of murdered women also decreased, but less dramatically. Over the past 10 years, an average of 41 women were killed per year.

Women are often killed by their partner or ex. Between 2014 and 2023, the police identified a suspect in 96 percent of femicides. In 54 percent of the cases, the suspect was the victim’s partner or ex. For women aged 20 to 60 years old, that was 70 percent. About 20 percent were killed by a family member. Women are often killed in their own homes with a stabbing weapon or by strangulation.

For male victims, the police identified a suspect in 87 percent of the cases. In over 30 percent, the suspect was an aquaintance of the victim. Almsot 1 in 8 cases involved a settling of scores in the criminal world. Three-quarters of male victims were shot or stabbed to death.

Young children were almost always killed by one of their parents. Between 2014 and 2023, 61 kids under 10 years old were murdered - 35 boys and 26 girls. In 54 cases, one of their parents was the suspect.

In the past decade, 73 percent of murder and manslaughter victims were between 20 and 60 years old. Ten percent were younger than 20, and 17 percent older than 60.

Half of all murders were committed in large municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants. Last year, the most murders were in the three largest cities - Rotterdam (12), Amsterdam (10), and The Hauge (9). Rotterdam also had the most murders in 2022.

Since 2019, the number of suspects in murder or manslaughter cases who eventually stand trial has remained virtually the same. Every year, around 100 suspects are summoned for murder or manslaughter. In recent years, the proportion of murder cases decreased. In 2019, over 70 percent of suspects were summoned for murder. In 2023, it was less than half for the first time in 20 years.

The share of female suspects has increased in recent years. Last year, 10 percent of suspects on trial for murder or manslaughter were women, compared to 6 percent in 2019. The average age of the suspects at the time of the crime was 37 years.