Rabat – More than five women or girls were killed every hour by a partner or a family member around the world last year, a recent study by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women revealed.
Published on Wednesday, the report shows that gender-based violence remains a prevalent issue that threatens the safety and livelihood of women and girls across the world, and increases rates of femicide (the gender-based killing of women).
Over 81,000 women and girls were murdered intentionally in 2021, indicated the report, arguing that most of these killings were “gender motivated.”
Men and boys remain among the vast majority of homicide victims across the world, representing 81% of victims. However, women and girls are “disproportionately affected by homicidal violence in the private sphere.”
Around 56% of femicides are committed by intimate partners or family members, whereas 11% of male homicides occur in a private setting.
An estimated 45,000 women and girls were murdered by their intimate partners or other family members, added the report. Meanwhile, the source reported a lack of data on gender-based killing in public spaces.
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Data from the report showed a 19% reduction in the number of femicides committed by intimate partners or family members in Europe, between 2010 and 2021. However, North and South America recorded a 6% rise over the same period.
Over-time trends could not be drawn in Africa, Asia, and Oceania due to a lack of data, and less incidents reported to the police.
The report described the year 2020 as “particularly deadly in terms of gender-related killings of women and girls in the private sphere,” attributing the rise in femicide cases to the COVID-19 lockdown, among other factors.
The alarming data triggered a wave of shock among social media users, who called for preventative measures against gender-based violence.
“It’s such a scary world out there for women. You just never know when and where a perpetrator is lurking,” said a Twitter user.
