A total of 70 women have died at the hands of their partners during 2008, although this figure could rise to 76 if a further six pending cases are classified as domestic or gender violence.
The figure for 2007 was 71 fatalities and since 2000, a total of 576 women have been killed by their partners or ex-partners.
Of the 70 who died this year, around 60% of those who made officials complaints to the police about violence by their partners nevertheless continued in the relationship.