Sex of Homicide Victims and Offenders in Australia, 1989-90 to 2024-25
Data Brief
The current data brief presents the sex of victims and offenders of homicide in Australia between the 1989-90 and 2024-25 financial years.
Homicide Victims
Since 1989-90, the number of homicides in Australia has trended downward, with 330 total homicide victims in 1989-90 and 277 total homicide victims in 2024-25.
Since 1989-90, both the number of male and female homicide victims has trended downward.
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, 6,780 males and 3,681 females died by homicide in Australia (64.8% males), with more males than females dying by homicide each year over that 36-year period.
The number of male homicide victims ranged from a low of 138 in 2017-18 to a high of 240 in 2001-02. The average number of male homicide victims per year between 1989-90 to 2024-25 was 188.
The number of female homicide victims ranged from a low of 59 in 2021-22 to a high of 148 in 1990-91. The average number of female homicide victims per year between 1989-90 to 2024-25 was 102.
In 2024-24, 70.4% of homicide victims in Australia were males.
Homicide Offenders
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, 9,711 males and 1,511 females were offenders of homicide in Australia.
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, males were 86.5% of homicide offenders in Australia (low of 82.9% in 2016-17; high of 90.8% in 1990-91).
In 2024-25, 85.6% of homicide offenders in Australia were males.
Intimate Partner Homicide Victims
Since 1989-90, the number of intimate partner homicides in Australia has trended downward, with 82 total intimate partner homicide victims in 1989-90 and 46 intimate partner homicide victims in 2024-25.
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, 549 males and 1,750 females were victims of intimate partner homicide in Australia (23.9% males; 76.1% females), with more females than males dying by intimate partner homicide each year over that 36-year period.
The number of intimate partner male homicide victims ranged from a low of four in 2022-23 to a high of 25 in 1993-94. The average number of male intimate partner homicide victims per year between 1989-90 to 2024-25 was 15.
The number of intimate partner female homicide victims ranged from a low of 26 in 2021-22 to a high of 75 in 2001-02. The average number of female intimate partner homicide victims per year between 1989-90 to 2024-25 was 49.
In 2024-24, 69.6% of intimate partner homicide victims in Australia were females.
Intimate Partner Homicides as a Proportion of All Homicides
Historically, approximately one of every five homicides in Australia has been an intimate partner homicide.
Between 1989-90 and 2024-25, 2,299 of the 10,461 homicide victims in Australia were killed by an intimate partner (21.9%).
The proportion all homicides that were intimate partner homicides ranged from a low of 15.3% in 2021-22 to a high of 30.4% in 2007-08.
The proportion all homicides in Australia that are intimate partner homicides has decreased in recent years.
Source
Bricknell S & Miles H 2026. Homicide in Australia 2024–25. Statistical Report no. 58. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Bonus Commentary
Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology reveal that numbers of homicides in Australia have been trending downward for many years. This downward trend is due to fewer males killing other males and fewer males killing female intimate partners. The data also confirm that make up most of the victims (~65%) and offenders (~85%) of homicide in Australia.
The Australian government invests billions of dollars into “gender-based violence.” It also allocates an amount of attention to the topic of female intimate partner homicide victimization that is disproportionate to the data. For example, the Australian Institute of Criminology’s homicide data homepage is a dashboard dedicated solely to female victims of intimate partner homicide (see screenshot below). However, for two reasons, this single-sex presentation of homicide victimization data is inappropriate. Firstly, most homicides in Australia are not between intimate partners. Intimate partner homicides account for 20-25% of all homicides in Australia. Secondly, females are not the only victims of intimate partner homicide. Males make up one of every five victims of intimate partner homicide in Australia. Thus, by presenting data only on female victims of intimate partner homicide on its homicide homepage, the Australian Institute of Criminology is distorting the reality of homicide victimisation in Australia.
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Thanks for presenting this important data in a non-biased way. No surprises the Director of the AIC is a female.
Thank you James with continuing with these posts of statistics.
Personally I find them interesting and as boring as bat shit and yet required. Work that one out and you get a glimpse of my inner workings!
However, I thank you because: I was recently in Germany at a psychological conference and the idea of having a Ai companion was presented to people in a film. Everyone was hot about Ai then.
On the way home one of the participants explained how her sons friend, male, had posted all the text messages between him and his soon to be Wife.
Apparently, Ai told him to end the relationship.
Of course this is idiotic, or is it?
The general consensus was that 'he was mad and that the woman escaped from a nightmare'.
At the time I kept my mouth shut, however, I thought, 'maybe he escaped a nightmare' and then much later on others came on board with this idea as well. it was interesting to see some of the, 'he is the problem for relying on Ai' change to 'owe, I never thought of that'.
We see this situation in the statistics you provided and it is clear that men commit more crimes and even more men loose their lives, however, the authorities see men as the biggest problem when in fact, maybe, it is females that are the problem.
Maybe they should ask Ai?
or, they could ask Gabor Maté?
His book 'The Myth of Normal' and the short review: ... renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems are actually seeing an upsurge in chronic illness and general ill health. Prescription drug usage, high blood pressure, mental illness, and so many other troubling issues are on the rise.