Home not a safe place for many girls

UNITED NATION: More than five women or girls were killed every hour on average by someone in their own family in 2021, according to a new UN report on femicide.

The report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes and UN Women came ahead of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25

Around 45,000 women and girls, 56 percent of the 81,000 intentionally killed worldwide last year, were murdered by intimate partners or other family members, the report said, indicating that home is not safe place for many women and girls.

The figures show that in the past decade, the overall number of female homicides has remained largely unchanged.

“Behind every femicide statistic is the story of an individual woman or girl who has failed. These deaths are preventable,” UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said.

Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes, Ghada Waly, said no woman or girl should fear for her life because of who she happens to be.

“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.”

Asia recorded the largest number of gender-related killings with 17,800 deaths in 2021, according to the report.

However, women and girls were more at risk of being killed by intimate partners or other family members in Africa.