Karen Ingala Smith was CEO ofnia, a domestic and sexual violence charity working to end violence against women and girls, based in London, UK from 2009-2023.[1][2]
Karen Ingala Smith is a co-creator of 'The Femicide Census' withWomen's Aid (England),[8] supported byFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP andDeloitte LLP. The UK Femicide Census is a database containing information on women killed by men in England and Wales since 2009 (and now including Northern Ireland and Scotland).[9] The Femicide census[10] is a project enabling the monitoring and analysis of men's fatal male violence against women with the aim of contributing to the reduction of the number of women killed by men.[11] By gathering and combining data it is possible for service providers, law enforcement agencies, researchers and policy-makers to see that these killings are not isolated incidents and many follow similar patterns of male violence.[12][13] The Femicide Census launched its first UK report in December 2016.[9][14] In January 2022, data from the Femicide Census revealed that 52 of the men convicted of manslaughter or murder of women in the decade ending 2019 were either serving or past members of the armed forces.[15] Her work in recording and commemorating UK women killed by men in a campaign called 'Counting Dead Women' has gained media coverage.[16][17][18]
Smith works on issues relating to male violence against women and is often invited as a spokesperson to comment in news reporting.[21][22] Her bookDefending Women's Spaces is published by Polity Press in 2022[23]
