The crimes against women have surged globally in recent years, especially violence committed by partners, family members, and relatives, says the UN report.
Around 85,000 women and girls were killed internationally in 2023; 60 per cent of these are reported as homicides—51,000 crimes committed by intimate partners or other family members.
Additionally, 140 women and girls die every day at the hands of their partner or a close relative, which means one woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes as per the latest findings revealed in the report on femicides.
The report, “Femicides in 2023: Global Estimates of intimate partner/family member homicides jointly produced by UN Women and the UN Office for Drug and Crime, was released to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, revealed on Monday.
The findings in the report reveal a concerning trend that the majority of women killed in violence-related cases are done by their intimate partners and other members of the family.
The shocking trend suggests that home, which is supposed to be the safest place for any woman, remains the most dangerous one.
Women and girls everywhere continue to be affected by this extreme form of gender-based violence, and no region is excluded.
With an estimated “21,700 victims of intimate partner/ family member femicide in 2023, Africa is the region with the highest number of victims in aggregate terms.
Moreover, Africa continues to account for the highest number of victims of intimate partner/family member femicide relative to the size of its population.
The Americas and Oceania also recorded high rates of intimate partner/ family member femicide in 2023, at 1.6 and 1.5 per 100,000, respectively, while the rates were significantly lower in Asia and Europe, at 0.8 and 0.6 per 100,000, respectively,” the report said.
The findings in the report suggest 85,000 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2023
Out of all women killed by intimate partners or other family members in those two regions in 2023, 64 percent were murdered by their intimate partners in Europe and 58 percent in the Americas.
Over the recent decades, the trend of women and girls killed by intimate partners has slowly but continuously increased.
The report suggests that the actual number may be on the higher side because only a few countries are complying with the UNODC-UN Women Statistical Framework for measuring gender-related killings.
Even though men and boys account for the vast majority of homicide victims, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by lethal violence in the private sphere.
Contrastingly, men have also suffered, as the data reveals that 12 per cent of the men have also been subjected to violent crimes by their intimate partners.
However, there is an asymmetry when it comes to the violent crimes against both sexes globally.
Follow us
