Danish women’s rights group calls for long-term strategy to combat intimate partner killings

A leading Danish organisation supporting victims of gender-based violence has urged the incoming government to prioritise a long-term national strategy to reduce intimate partner killings, following Tuesday’s court ruling in the murder of a 13-year-old girl in North Jutland.

Mette Marie Yde, director of Danner—a group providing shelter and legal aid to abused women—told public broadcaster DR that short-term, fragmented action plans had failed to curb the trend. “We’re calling on the new government to commit to a more cohesive, long-term strategy rather than just four-year plans with disjointed measures,” she said.

The case centres on the 2024 killing of a 13-year-old girl in Hjallerup by her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Tuesday. Court documents state the victim was raped before being beaten to death shortly after ending the relationship. The now-20-year-old perpetrator testified that he killed her because she had broken up with him.

Yde noted that despite the victims’ young age, the case mirrored patterns seen in adult intimate partner homicides. “In many cases, the perpetrator tries to regain control after a breakup—sometimes escalating to planned killings if reconciliation fails,” she said. A psychiatric evaluation described the convicted man as “egocentric, domineering, manipulative, and reckless,” traits Yde said were common among convicted partner killers.

Denmark established a dedicated intimate partner homicide commission in 2025 following public outcry over a surge in fatal violence against women. While recent measures—such as pilot programmes for electronic monitoring of stalkers and tougher penalties for domestic abuse—mark progress, Yde argued they remain insufficient. “The numbers haven’t dropped. We’re still seeing the same levels of violence and the same number of killings.”

She pointed to international models as potential blueprints, citing Sweden’s success in early intervention to de-escalate abusive relationships and Canadian data showing that nearly all female homicide victims had prolonged disputes in family court. “These are areas Denmark should examine closely,” Yde said.