(Tanzania) The deadliest place for women is the home. Two United Nations (UN) agencies report that an average of 140 women and girls were killed by an intimate partner or family member per day last year.
Posted at 8:54 a.m.
Edith M. Lederer
Associated Press
Globally, an intimate partner or family member was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 51,100 women and girls in 2023, an increase from the estimated 48,800 victims in 2022, UN Women and the Office said of the United Nations against drugs and crime.
The report released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women says the increase is largely due to countries having more data, not more numbers of murders.
The two agencies, however, stressed that “women and girls everywhere continue to be affected by this extreme form of gender-based violence” and that “no region is excluded”, adding that “the home is the most dangerous place for women and girls.”
Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, deputy director of UN Women, told a press conference that women have been killed by their relatives for a long time and the trend continues because the underlying issues have not been addressed, especially stereotypes. gender and social norms.
“These are murders associated with power over women. This trend continues due to the persistent impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of violent attacks against women,” she said.
Mme Gumbonzvanda, a long-time Zimbabwean women’s rights activist, pointed out that there is “a lot of anonymity of perpetrators” when it comes to the killing of women by their partners or family members, because “this means that family members must provide justice to another family member.”
UN Women campaigns to ensure that economic and political power holders and leaders of different traditions do not use their power to perpetuate violence. “Power should be used to facilitate prevention options,” argued Mr.me Kneeling.
“Alarming levels”
According to the report, murders committed by intimate partners and family members are highest in Africa, with an estimated 21,700 victims in 2023. Africa also has the highest number of victims the highest relative to population size, at 2.9 victims per 100,000 inhabitants.
Last year, rates were also high in the Americas, with 1.6 female victims per 100,000 people, and in Oceania, with 1.5 per 100,000 people. Rates were significantly lower in Asia (0.8 victims per 100,000) and Europe (0.6 per 100,000).
According to the report, intentional killings of women in the private sphere in Europe and the Americas are mainly committed by intimate partners.
On the other hand, the vast majority of homicides take place outside of homes and families.
“Even though men and boys represent the vast majority of victims, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by deadly violence in the private sphere,” the report states.
“It is estimated that 80% of victims in 2023 were men and 20% women, but fatal violence within the family claims many more victims among women than among men, since almost 60% of women are intentionally killed in 2023 were victims of an act committed by an intimate partner or family member,” the report highlights.
Despite efforts to prevent the killings of women and girls, they “remain at alarming levels”. “They are often the culmination of repeated episodes of gender-based violence, meaning they can be prevented through timely and effective interventions,” the two agencies said.
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