A woman or girl was killed by a partner or family member every ten minutes in 2024, according to new UN data released on Monday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The report, published by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, estimates that around 50,000 women and girls were killed by someone close to them last year.
In total, 83,000 women and girls were intentionally killed worldwide in 2024, with 60% of them dying at the hands of an intimate partner or family member.
While the latest estimate is slightly lower than the 51,100 recorded the previous year, the UN stresses that the change does not reflect real progress. Instead, the difference is largely attributed to varying data availability across the 117 countries analysed.
The organisations warn that femicide figures have remained stubbornly static despite years of international commitments to tackle gender-based violence.
They note that tens of thousands of women and girls continue to be killed each year with "no sign of genuine improvement", and highlight that the home remains the most dangerous place for women in terms of the risk of being murdered.
Although women accounted for just 20% of homicide victims globally in 2024, 60% of those female victims were killed in the private sphere. By contrast, only 11% of male homicide victims were killed in similar circumstances.
No region is unaffected, but Africa once again recorded the highest number of women and girls killed by a partner or relative, with an estimated 22,000 victims.
