TWENTY-THREE people
died after being assaulted in Ireland in a single
year, new figures show.
The 23 assault-related deaths, including 22 males
and one female, occurred in 2016 – a rise of two on
the previous year.
However, the number represents a drop compared to
previous years. Twenty-eight assault-related deaths
were reported in 2011; 41 in 2012; 26 in 2013 and 32
in 2014.
The highest number of assault-related deaths in the
EU in 2016 were in Germany (390 deaths); Italy
(364); France (317); Poland (285) and Spain (282).
However, when population size is accounted for,
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia returned the highest
rates.
Ireland's rate stood at 0.5 assault deaths per
100,000 inhabitants in 2016. The UK reported the
overall lowest rate, of 0.1 deaths per 100,000
people, while the average EU rate was 0.6 deaths per
100,000.
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia reported assault-death
rates of 4.6, 3.6 and 2.7 per 100,000, respectively
– all slightly down on 2015.
The figures were published yesterday by European
statistics body Eurostat and show a continuing fall
in assault-related deaths across the EU.
There were 3,300 assault-related deaths out of 5.1
million total EU deaths in 2015. The majority of
those killed were men (65%).
"Death is due to assault if it results from homicide
or injuries inflicted by another person with intent
to injure or kill. Deaths related to legal
interventions and war are excluded," the report
notes.
"In 2002, the first year for which data (is)
available, the rate stood at 1.3 per 100,000 persons
and has steadily decreased since then, reaching 0.6
per 100,000 in 2016." |
