GBV survivor and Kuhluka movement founder Josina Machel speaking during the launch of UN women femicide report at Trademark hotel, Nairobi on November 25, 2024/LEAH MUKANGAI
At least 140 women and girls across the globe lost their lives every day at the hands of someone well-known to them; their partners or a close relative, a new United Nations report has shown.
The femicide report released on Monday shows that every 10 minutes, a girl or a woman is killed.
It also showed that the number of women and girls killed by their intimate partners or other family members increased in 2023.
The data showed that 51,100 women and girls were killed by their intimate partners or other family members in 2023, as compared to 48,800 victims in 2022.
The report compiled by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) states that Africa had an estimated 21,700 victims of intimate partner/ family-related femicide in 2023.
UN said globally, around 1.3 women per 100,000 female population are estimated to have been killed by an intimate partner or another family member in 2023.
As per regional differences, Africa has the highest number of femicides, with 2.9 victims per 100,000 population in 2023.
America and Oceania also recorded high rates of intimate partner/family-related femicide in 2023, at 1.6 and 1.5 per 100,000 respectively.
The rates were significantly lower in Asia and Europe, at 0.8 and 0.6 per 100,000 respectively.
According to the data, 55 per cent of femicides worldwide are committed by family members, with 45 per cent perpetrated by intimate partners.
“This suggests that the home remains the most dangerous place for women and girls in terms of the risk of lethal victimization,” the UN said.
“Considerably less is known about the patterns and risk factors associated with the intentional killings of women and girls by other family members, which may require a broader set of prevention strategies.”
The report further found that men were victims of most cases of homicide.
However, while intimate partners or family members kill 11.8 per cent of men, 60.2 per cent of women are affected.
