16 days of activism: UN femicide report

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has published an important report along with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The paper, entitled 'Gender-related killings of women and girls', provides a stark picture of global estimates of gender-related killings of women and girls in 2021.

On day 13 of the 16 Days of Activism, I want to highlight the report and its data.

Some of the key findings include:

• 81,100 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2021 around the world. The overall number of female homicides has remained largely unchanged over the past decade.
• In 2021, around 45,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by intimate partners or other family members. This means that, on average, more than five women or girls are killed every hour by someone in their own family.
• Women and girls are at greater risk of homicide at home - some 56% of all female homicides are committed by intimate partners or other family members - while only 11% of all male homicides are perpetrated in the private sphere.

While these numbers are alarmingly high, the true scale of femicide may be much higher. Too many victims of femicide still go uncounted.

More research is required to better understand what is driving increases in femicide in certain contexts and what the enabling factors and pathways to prevention are in contexts where there have been decreases.

Gender-related killings and other forms of violence against women and girls are not inevitable. They can and must be prevented.

Download the report (1.2Mb PDF)