UN: Slain women die at home
Study shows victims are killed by men they know
More than half of all female homicide victims worldwide – 137 every day – were killed by a member of their own family last year, according to a new United Nations study.
Research published by the U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime found that of the approximately 87,000 women and girls intentionally killed in 2017, about 58 percent died at the hands of someone who was either an “intimate partner” or a relative.
This amounts to six women being killed every hour by people they know, the report said. It was released Sunday to coincide with the U.N.’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The campaign brought thousands of people to the streets of nations around the globe to raise awareness of gender-based violence.
Yury Fedotov, the UNODC’s executive director, noted that while the vast majority of worldwide homicide victims are men – accounting for eight out of 10 homicides in 2017 – women bear the greatest burden in terms of violence perpetrated by intimate partners.
In 2017, roughly 82 percent of victims of homicide perpetrated by intimate partners or family members were female. The corresponding figure for men: 18 percent. The vast majority of men are killed by strangers.
“Women continue to pay the highest price as a result of gender inequality, discrimination and negative stereotypes,” Fedotov said. “Targeted criminal justice responses are needed to prevent and end gender-related killings,” he added.
The study notes that even though “countries have taken action to address violence against women and genderrelated killings in different ways, by adopting legal changes, early interventions and multi-agency efforts, as well as creating special units and implementing training in the criminal justice system ... there are no signs of a decrease in the number of gender-related killings of women and girls.”
Africa and the Americas were the regions where women are most at risk of being killed by intimate partners or family members, the study found.