A woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member nearly every 10 minutes, an average of 137 every day, according to new UN data that shows no meaningful progress in tackling femicide.

In a report released on Monday, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women said femicide continues to take the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls across the world.

“Last year, 83,000 women and girls were killed intentionally. Of them, 60 per cent – 50,000 women and girls – were killed at the hands of intimate partners or family members,” the report stated.

In comparison, only 11 per cent of male homicide victims were killed by intimate partners or family members during the same period.

“The home remains a dangerous and sometimes lethal place for too many women and girls around the world,” said John Brandolino, acting Executive Director of UNODC. He stressed the need for stronger prevention strategies and more effective criminal justice responses that address the conditions enabling this extreme form of violence.

Sarah Hendriks, Director of UN Women’s Policy Division, highlighted the rising threat of online abuse, warning that “digital violence often doesn’t stay online” and can escalate offline, in some cases contributing to lethal harm, including femicide.

Femicide affects women and girls in every region. The highest rate of killings by an intimate partner or family member was recorded in Africa (3 per 100,000 female population), followed by the Americas (1.5), Oceania (1.4), Asia (0.7) and Europe (0.5).

The report noted that femicides occurring outside the home remain underreported due to insufficient data.

Although the estimated number of women and girls killed in the private sphere in 2024, nearly 50,000, is slightly lower than the 2023 estimate of 51,100, the UN said the change reflects differences in data availability rather than a real decline in violence.

PTI inputs