Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
United NationsSource: Eduardo Munoz/ Reuters

On average, more than five women or girls are killed by their family members every hour in 2021, according to the newly released United Nations (UN) findings on femicide.

A report jointly published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women suggests that 45,000 women and girls, more than 56 percent of the 81,100 murdered worldwide last year, were killed by their intimate partners or other relatives.

The report was issued ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, observed annually on November 25th.

Sima Bahous, Executive Director at UN Women, said: “Behind every femicide statistic is the story of an individual woman or girl who has been failed. These deaths are preventable; the tools and the knowledge to do so already exist.”

Meanwhile, 11 percent of all homicides against men and boys are committed in the private sphere. However, they are more at risk of being killed by someone outside their family.

Data shows that four out of ten women and girls were intentionally killed in 2021; however, there is not enough information to determine if these deaths were femicides.

Ghada Waly, the UNODC Executive Director, said: “No woman or girl should fear for her life because of who she is.” (The UN News)

“To stop all forms of gender-related killing of women and girls, we need to count every victim, everywhere, and improve our understanding of the risks and drivers of femicide so we can design better and more effective prevention and criminal justice responses,” she added.

Insufficient data

Both UN agencies pointed out that the actual number of femicide is likely to be much higher as too many victims remain unaccounted for, despite the figures already being “alarmingly high.” These figures have remained essentially unchanged over the past decade.

While it is crucial to have information about the victims and their relationships with the perpetrators, finding comprehensive data on such acts becomes extremely difficult.

The issue of violence against women and girls bothers every region of the world; for instance, domestic violence is still commonly viewed as a “private matter” in some parts of the world. Additionally, the concept of fate, victim blaming, and an ambiguous stance on marital rape encourage a culture of impunity in society.

However, highlighting the incidents connected to armed conflicts, gang activity, and other forms of organized crime, the head of the UNODC Office in New York, Delphine Schantz, said: “There is even less data available on gender-related killings committed in the public sphere.”

COVID-19 Pandemic

The report further elaborated that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 coincided with a significant increase in incidents of femicides in North America and, to some extent, Western and Southern Europe.

Furthermore, the report refers to the substantial progress that has been made in preventing and reducing violence against women and girls.

Further, the report emphasizes the fact that crimes are not inevitable and that they can and must be prevented through multi-sectoral approaches and interventions.

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