60 Percent of Murders of Women Are at the Hands of a Partner or Family – Global Issues
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 25 (IPS) – Every 10 minutes, one woman or girl is killed at the hands of her partner or another family member. This just goes to show how femicide, one of the worst forms of violence against women, persists at high levels around the world.
UN-Women and the UN Office of Drug and Crime (UNODC) released a joint report, Feminicide in 2023: Global Estimates of Homicide of a Female Intimate/Family MemberNovember 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The joint report summarizes statistical findings on the global rate of femicide—the intentional killing of women—for the year 2023. This report focuses on the killing of women by intimate partners or family members.
“The new report on the killing of women highlights the urgent need for strong criminal justice systems that hold perpetrators accountable while ensuring adequate support for survivors, including access to safe and transparent reporting mechanisms,” said Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director.
Globally, 85,000 women and girls were killed in 2023. Sixty percent of these murders, or 51,000, were committed by an intimate partner or other family member. The report compares this to the fact that nearly 12 percent of male homicide victims in 2023 were killed by an intimate partner or family member, or one in ten victims. This highlights the clear gender disparity in homicide, where the home environment is more dangerous for women and girls than for men and boys.
Last year, Africa recorded the highest rates of female intimate partner and family related (IP/FR), followed by the Americas and Oceania. In Europe and the Americas, the majority of female victims killed at home—64 percent and 58 percent respectively—were killed by close friends. In contrast, in Asia, Africa, and Oceania, more female victims were killed by family members compared to intimate partners, 59 percent and 41 percent, respectively. The report also points out that although Africa hosts the highest rates of femicide for IP/FR, regional femicide rates should be subject to uncertainty due to limitations in data availability.
This limitation in data availability is also evident in the breakdown of the report on time trends in IP/FR femicide, analyzed within the context of Europe and America. The IP/FR rate of female homicide in 2023 was almost the same as it was in 2010. Yet at the same time, there was a gradual decline in the rate of female homicide. This suggests that changes can be slow to enter mainstream practice, and that the risk factors and causes of this type of violence are based on habits and norms that will not change quickly.
“Violence against women and girls is inevitable – it is preventable. We need stronger legislation, improved data collection, greater government accountability, a culture of zero tolerance, and increased funding for women’s rights organizations and institutional organizations,” said the Executive Director of UN Women. Stop Bahous.
Through their annual report, the 16 Days of Activism and UNiTE, UN-Women and UNODC campaigns to end impunity by holding perpetrators accountable and investing in protective measures that protect survivors’ rights and provide them with essential resources. services. Preventive measures can include strengthening law enforcement and criminal justice responses to domestic violence, with the report recommending specific measures such as protective orders and taking guns out of the hands of perpetrators.
Information sharing and collaboration among the many organizations involved in the investigation of domestic violence, such as social services, health agencies, and the police, can also include identifying the risk of further harm or killing of women. In 2021, Colombia launched an integrated protocol in which women affected by gender-based violence can complete an assessment to determine the level of risk of fatal injuries, which will follow that they will work with the relevant authorities to create a security plan with urgent measures to be taken to reduce the risk of killing women. Between 2021 and 2022, through this tool, it was found that 35 to 40 percent of women experiencing intimate partner violence were at high risk of becoming victims of femicide.
Focusing on the prevalence of IP/FR femicide, especially when partners are the perpetrators, is clearly a culmination of ongoing domestic violence. In France, 37 percent of women killed by their intimate partners had previously reported physical, psychological and sexual abuse at the hands of their partners. The violence may end there, but in some cases it continues, even if the perpetrator kills himself immediately or directs the violence at any children they share.
What is also clear is that data collection efforts must be supported by programs led by specialized government agencies or national statistics offices. Limitations in the availability of data on family-related femicide need to be addressed, particularly in Africa and Asia which report high levels of femicide by family members.
This year we include 25th commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Beyond the horizon are 30th commemorating the Beijing Platform for Action 2025. This presents an opportunity that stakeholders must take to strengthen women’s rights and gender equality.
“As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025, it is time for world leaders to unite and act with urgency, commitment and resources to end this crisis once and for all,” said Bahous. .
Community campaigns such as UNiTE and advocacy efforts through civil society and non-governmental organizations have been key in raising awareness of the prevalence of gender-based violence and drawing condemnation of the behavior that perpetuates it.
However, what is also clear is that even with these efforts and measures taken by governments and other stakeholders to protect survivors of violence, the killing of women continues at alarmingly high levels around the world. This speaks to extreme forms of gender-based violence rooted in social and cultural norms and gender stereotypes. It speaks to a global culture in which half of the world’s population is taught to never feel completely safe, even within their own home. IPS UN Bureau Report
Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
Follow IPS News UN Bureau on Instagram
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
