THE Asian prostitute murdered in Dublin at the weekend was the 49th person to be violently killed in the State this year, and the 19th female victim.
Not all "violent deaths" are deemed murders - some result in a manslaughter charge. But the female victims in 1996, 39 per cent of the total, fit a picture of growing violence against women. Women accounted for 20 per cent of murder victims in 1995 (eight out of 41 murders) and 32 per cent in 1994 (eight of 25 murders).
The increase in killings of women is accompanied by a growth in the number of other acts of violence against women. In 1995 there were 191 rapes of women, along with 604 sexual assaults against both genders and 17 aggravated sexual assault. This compares with 645 sexual offences in 1994, and 590 the previous year.
These figures show a trend but mask the scale of the problem surveys of women's shelters and crisis centres show only about a third of rapes are reported.
Although often criticised for failing to make progress in "contract" or gangland killings, the Garda has a relatively high detection rate for other murders. This applies particularly to murders of women, where the victim and killer are often known to each other and their links can be traced. In most of this year's cases someone has been charged or a file is with the Director of Public Prosecutions. In addition the detection rate for rape - at between 40 and 60 per cent - is higher than the overall detection rate.
However, women's groups point out that the prosecution rate is falling and the conviction rate remains low.
There are now four cases of murders of women in 1996 where there have been no charges. The most recent are the prostitute murdered at the weekend and Ms Sophie Toscan du Plantier, battered to death near Schull, west Cork, on December 22nd.
In May the body of Patricia Murphy (34) was found at a rubbish near her home on Griffith Avenue, Glasnevin, Dublin. She had been strangled. Ms Geraldine Diver (42) was found dead in her car outside a builder's yard in Dublin at the beginning of this month. Her head was tied to the car head rest with a necktie. Gardai believe both of these women knew their killers.
According to the organisation Women's Aid, random killings of women acre rare. Their studies - unrelated to this year's killings - show that 18 per cent of woman generally say they have been subjected to physical, sexual or mental abuse.
A working group on violence against women and children, which reported to the Minister for Justice, Ms Owen last October, made 84 recommendations for legal and other reforms to tackle the problem. This included calls for more training for employees of State agencies and radical changes in the way rape trials are run.