Refuge warns of domestic abuse and homicide "epidemic"
The warning follows the death of a woman who was killed in an explosion at her Bristol home
Domestic abuse charity Refuge has issued a stark warning of an escalating "epidemic" of domestic abuse and homicide.
The warning follows the tragic events in Frenchay, Bristol, where a house explosion resulted in two deaths.
Jo Shaw, 35, was killed in the blast on Sunday morning, which also saw her former partner, Ryan Kelly, 41, suffer fatal injuries.
Investigations are ongoing but police are treating Jo Shaw's death as a homocide.
It follows an annual report from the Domestic Homicide Project, which recorded 1,452 deaths linked to domestic abuse over a five-year period, with 347 deaths in the year to March 2025.
“We are facing epidemic levels of domestic abuse and homicide,” said Alice Russel-Harris from Refuge.
“Tackling the domestic abuse epidemic demands a whole society approach, which includes effective prevention long-term support for survivors and meaningful action to hold the perpetrators to account.
“So there’s so much that needs to shift in terms of understanding and culture-change to ensure that when women and survivors are coming forward, they’re being listened to and heard the first time.”