UN report: 5 women killed every hour by family member
Farah Bahgat
November 23, 2022
More than half of the women and girls murdered last year were killed by a partner of a close relative, UN data showed. The number of deaths is "alarmingly high," but the UN warns the real situation is likely much worse.
Europe showed a 19% decrease in family-related killings of women and girls in the past decade, according to the UN dataImage: JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women said the figure meant that more than five women or girls were killed every hour by someone in their family.
The report stressed that although its findings on femicide were "alarmingly high," the real figures were likely to be much higher.
'Home is not a safe place'
According to the UN, an estimated 81,100 women and girls were killed intentionally last year.
"Of all the women and girls intentionally killed last year, some 56% were killed by intimate partners or other family members... showing that home is not a safe place for many women and girls," the UN offices said.
The report acknowledged men and boys were far more likely to be killed overall, making up for 81% of all victims. But women and girls were particularly affected by gender-based violence in their own homes, according to the findings.
It added that the highest number of femicides in 2021 was recorded in Asia, with an estimated 17,800 victims. Africa was the second-deadliest continent when it came to family violence against women and girls, with 17,200 recorded victims, according to the UN report.
Pakistan's graveyard of femicide victims
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'Too little progress'
"The available evidence shows that there has been too little progress in preventing gender-related killings of women and girls," the UN statement said.
According to the report, data from Europe showed a 19% decrease in family-related killings of women and girls in the past decade, while the Americas saw an average decline by 6% in the same period.
COVID lockdowns were likely a contributing factor to a "particularly deadly" year for women and girls in North America in 2020, the report said.
It noted that femicides recorded at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic "were larger than any yearly variations observed since 2015."
Women's Day rallies highlight inequality amid pandemic
From Germany to Mexico to Pakistan, women around the world have marked the International Women's day with rallies as they protested amplified gender inequality during the COVID-19 crisis.
Image: Abdulhamid Hosbas/AA/picture alliance
Germany: Demanding better equality
Hundreds of protesters called for gender equality as they marched to the historic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, local media reported. A study showed that, in recent months, women held proportionally less management positions in German companies than men. More women have faced challenges to advance their careers while they take care of their children in lockdown.
Image: Abdulhamid Hosbas/AA/picture alliance
Ukraine: 'The pandemic has a woman's face'
Ukraine's capital Kyiv was rocked by protests as thousands of women marched to highlight domestic violence. With banners saying "the pandemic has a woman's face," protesters aimed to draw attention to how women suffered during the COVID crisis. Cases of domestic violence have risen worldwide during the coronavirus pandemic, as isolation and confinement prompted sexual and gender-based violence.
Image: Andrei Ratmirov/TASS/dpa/picture alliance
Philippines: Down with Duterte
Hundreds of women rallied in the capital Manila protesting President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged abuses against women.
The president has angered women's rights groups since he took office in 2016 as he has repeatedly made jokes about rape. Protesters smashed an effigy of Duterte with sledgehammers.
Image: Aaron Favila/AP/picture alliance
Turkey: Calling for an end to femicide
Rallies took to the streets in Istanbul to protest violence against women.
A day before the protests, Turkish authorities announced the arrest of a man who appeared to beat his wife on the streets in a widely circulated video on social media. Turkey has one of the highest femicide rates in the world. Last year, at least 300 women were murdered, according to a rights group.
Image: DHA
Pakistan: Defying Islamism
Pakistani women rallied around the country's major cities in defiance of Islamist hardliners, who had attacked the march with stones last year. Dancing, chanting and marching, protesters demanded reform in the healthcare system, highlighting how the pandemic struck women the most.
Women around the world suffered to access reproductive and sexual healthcare during the coronavirus crisis.
Image: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico: Remembering victims
Women placed flowers and wrote the names of victims of violence on a fence set at the presidential palace in Mexico City. In the last five years, femicide rates rose to almost 130% in Mexico.
Image: Eduardo Verdugo/AP/picture alliance
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The UN said it could not draw over-time trends in Africa, Asia and Oceania due to a lack of data.
"By ensuring that every victim is counted, we can ensure that perpetrators are held to account and justice is served," the UN offices said.
The UN urged political commitment to the prevention of gender-based violence, including introducing policies in favor of gender equality, investing in women's rights organizations and "allocating sufficient resources to prevention."
