A woman somewhere in the world will be killed by someone close to her every 10 minutes in 2024, the United Nations reported on Monday (24), highlighting the lack of progress in the fight against femicide.
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In 2024, about 50,000 women and girls will be killed by their partners or family members, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and UN Women said in a report marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
About 60% of women murdered worldwide were victims of their partners or family members, such as fathers, uncles, mothers and brothers. In comparison, the report stated that only 11% of men who died from homicide were attacked by someone close to them.
The total number of femicides, based on data from 117 countries, is 137 women killed every day, or about one woman every 10 minutes.
Cases were slightly lower than those reported in 2023, although this does not represent a real decline, as it is mainly due to differences in data availability between countries, according to the UN.
Femicide still claims the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls every year and shows no signs of improving. “Home remains the most dangerous place for women and girls in terms of the risk of being killed,” the document states.
There is no region in the world where there are no murders of women, but Africa again recorded the highest number of cases last year at 22,000.
“Femicides do not occur in isolation. They are often part of a cycle of violence that can begin with controlling behaviour, threats and harassment, including online,” Sarah Hendricks, director of the UN Women’s Policy Division, said in a statement.
The report notes that technological development has exacerbated some types of violence against women and girls, both online and offline, with actions such as sharing images without consent, collecting private information without permission, and publishing hyper-realistic videos made using artificial intelligence known as “deepfakes” intended to cause harm.