Home is still the most dangerous place for women. By 2024 worldwide, 50,000 women and girls will be murdered by their loved ones, that is, one murder every ten minutes or 137 per day, a report by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, published on the occasion of the International Day Against Violence Against Women, regrets.
If this estimate – which is based on statistical analysis of 117 countries – is lower than in 2023 (51,100), then this “change does not mean real decline”, note down the report. The decline was mainly due to a lack of available data from certain countries, according to estimates by both UN agencies. For them, it’s the numbers “remains unchanged, despite years of commitment on a global scale.”
If female accounted for 20% of homicide victims worldwide by 2024, 60% of whom were killed in the private sphere, compared with only 11% of murders targeting men committed in the same context. Although no region remains unnoticed, the highest number of victims of femicide committed by loved ones was once again recorded on the African continent (approximately 22,000).
“The murder of women does not just happen out of nowhere. It is often part of a cycle of violence that begins with coercive control, threats and harassment, including online.commented the director of the UN Women’s policy division, Sarah Hendriks. The report highlights that certain technological developments have exacerbated or even created new types of violence against women, such as the disclosure of personal images and data and the publication of videos. “deep fake” generated by artificial intelligence.
“Cyber violence is not limited to cyberspace, it can occur offline and, in the worst cases, contribute to fatal harm, up to the murder of women (…) To prevent these murders, it is important to adopt laws that recognize the various forms of violence experienced by women. and girls, online and offline, and that forces perpetrators to be accountable for their actions before they become murderers.”Sarah Hendriks insisted.
