Females Killed By Males (1284A/21)
Request
This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please could you provide a list of all cases in which a woman has been killed by a man recorded by your force in the past 3 years, starting January 2018 and ending September 2021.
In addition, please could you provide the name of the victim if possible, the way in which they were killed, the date the femicide was committed and a note as to whether an individual has been held accountable by being charged and/or prosecuted.
CLARIFICATION
As you said, femicide is a term that can be interpreted differently, therefore I am looking for instances specifically where a woman has been killed by a man – whether deliberately or as a result of assault / injuries. For example, I’m not seeking cases where a woman died in a car crash where there was a male driver. I am seeking information on cases where women were the victims of murder or manslaughter at the hands of a man – whether he intended to kill her or not.
Response
We can confirm that some relevant information is held by West Midlands Police. However, while the majority of the information is attached to this email I am afraid that I am not required to release all of the information requested. Please see attached.
REASONS FOR DECISION
The withheld information is exempt by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 30(1)(a)(b) – Investigations and proceedings
Section 38(1)(a)(b) – Health and safety
Section 40(2) – Personal information
These exemptions and explanatory notes are shown here:
In line with the above, I am required to complete a Prejudice Test/Public Interest Test (PIT) on disclosure. Please find this PIT attached [1284A_PIT_01].
Section 40(2) is an absolute and class based exemption if to release the information exists would breach the third party’s data protection rights. In this case to release this personal information would not constitute fair processing of the data. As this exemption is class based I am not required to identify the harm in disclosure and in this instance I believe that the right to privacy outweighs any public interest in release.