Every 10 minutes a woman is killed around the world

The number of women killed by their husbands or family members worldwide was 51,100 last year, the United Nations Women's agency announced Monday in its annual report documenting violence against women.

According to this organization, worldwide, an average of 140 women and girls are killed every day by members of their families. The report says 60 percent of the roughly 85,000 murders of women this year were gender-motivated.

"Violence against women and girls is the most widespread form of violation of human rights. "Gender-based killings of women and girls are the most extreme form of violence against them and are often the result of other forms of violence perpetrated against them within their homes," the report states.

"Evidence shows that very little progress has been made ," the report added.

The highest number of victims was recorded in Africa, with 21,700 cases, and in Asia, 18,500 cases. In the American continent this number is 8,300 while in Europe 2,300 women were killed during 2023, according to the report compiled by UN Women and UNODC, the UN organization that deals with documenting crimes. In Oceania, this number reaches 300.

In the European continent, the highest level of murder of women is in the countries of Eastern Europe, which, according to the report, continues to be almost twice as high as in other parts of it, although this number has decreased in the period between 2015 and 2021.

The report says that global data show that a large proportion of women killed by their partners had previously reported cases of physical, sexual or psychological violence by their partners.

"The vast majority of intentional killings of women and girls in the world are committed by their partners or other family members. This suggests that the home continues to be the most dangerous place for women and girls in terms of the risk of lethal victimization ," the report states.

In 2022, the number of women killed was 48,800, but according to the authors of the report the increase in 2023 is due to differences in data from the countries that were included in the report.

"Violence against women and girls is not inevitable - it can be prevented. We need strong laws, better data collection, more accountability from the government, a culture that has zero tolerance for violence and additional funding for women's rights organizations and institutions ," said the director of UN Women, Sima. Bahous.

The report was released at the start of the '16 Days of Activism' campaign, which marks the 25th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

He estimates that "despite the efforts made by states to prevent the killing of women and girls, such murders remain at alarming levels."

"It seems that such extreme gender-based violence remains deeply rooted in social norms and gender-based prejudices, which require long-term and effective policies to eliminate them ," the report states./ VOA