Five women murdered by family members every hour, UN

The United Nations has published a report on violence against women, which states that at least 45,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their partners or family members in 2021.

The United Nations Office on Drugs, Crime and Women (UNODC) says these figures mean that every hour more than five women or girls are killed by a family member. are going

The report emphasizes that while its figures on femicide are “alarmingly high”, the true figure is likely to be much higher.

According to the United Nations, an estimated 81,100 women and girls were deliberately killed last year. “Of all women and girls who were intentionally killed last year, about 56 percent were killed by intimate partners or other family members,” the UN office said. This shows that for many women and girls, even their home is not a safe place.

The report also acknowledges that men and boys are also more likely to be murdered overall, accounting for 81 percent of all victims. However, according to the findings of this report, women and girls are subjected to gender-based violence, especially in their own homes.

It added that the highest number of femicides in 2021 was recorded in Asia, where nearly 17,800 women were affected. According to the UN report, Africa is the second deadliest continent for family violence against women and girls, with 17,200 cases recorded.

In this regard, the United Nations has said in a statement that “Available evidence shows that little progress has been made in the direction of stopping the killing of women and girls on the basis of sex.”

According to the report, European data shows that domestic homicides of women and girls have fallen by 19 percent over the past decade, compared to an average decline of 6 percent in the United States over the same period.

Lockdown periods during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic were likely to be “particularly lethal” for women and girls in North America, the report said. Accordingly, the violence against women recorded during the start of the coronavirus pandemic has never been seen in such numbers since 2015.

The UN says it has been unable to collect details on trends in violence against women over time in Africa, Asia and some other parts of the world due to a lack of data. “By ensuring that every victim is counted, we can also ensure that justice is served while the perpetrators are held to account,” the UN office said.

The United Nations called for political commitment to prevent gender-based violence, including introducing policies in favor of gender equality, providing financial support to women’s rights organizations and “preventing” violence. Allocating ample resources for this is very important.