5 women killed every hour by family members: UN Report

A new study by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women shows that, on average, more than five women or girls were killed every hour by someone in their own family in 2021.

The report comes ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 and is a horrific reminder that violence against women and girls is one of the most pervasive human rights violations worldwide, said a press release on Thursday.

Of all the women and girls intentionally killed last year, some 56 per cent were killed by intimate partners or other family members (45,000 out of 81,000), showing that home is not a safe place for many women and girls. Meanwhile, 11 per cent of all male homicides are perpetrated in the private sphere.  

“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,” UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said.

“Women’s rights organizations are already monitoring data and advocating for policy change and accountability. Now we need the concerted action across society that will fulfil women’s and girls’ right to feel and to be safe, at home, on the streets, and everywhere,” she added.

“To stop all forms of gender-related killings of women and girls, we need to count every victim, everywhere, and improve understanding of the risks and drivers of femicide so we can design better and more effective prevention and criminal justice responses,” UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly said.