The United Nations has raised a fresh alarm over the rising cases of femicide, warning that gender-related killings of women and girls have reached crisis levels worldwide.
In a new report released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the agency revealed that in 2024 alone, intimate partners and family members intentionally killed a woman every 10 minutes.
An estimated 80,000 women and girls were murdered by partners or relatives—including fathers, mothers, siblings, uncles and spouses—amounting to an average of 137 victims every day.
The UN described femicide as the “most brutal and extreme” form of violence against women, driven by gender-based motives rooted in harmful stereotypes, unequal power dynamics and entrenched social norms.
Unlike homicide, femicide is defined by its gender-related motivation.
Africa recorded the highest number of victims in 2024, with about 22,600 killings—equivalent to three women per 100,000 people—representing the highest regional rate globally.
Overall, 60 per cent of all family-related killings were carried out by current or former partners.
The report also warns of increasing threats against women in public life. One in four women journalists and one in three women parliamentarians in the Asia-Pacific region reported online death threats.
Technology-facilitated abuse—such as cyberstalking, coercive control and image-based harassment—has increasingly escalated into offline violence, some ending in femicide.
The UN noted that gender-related killings also occur outside domestic settings, including those linked to rape, sexual violence by strangers, harmful traditional practices, so-called honour killings and hate crimes targeting sexual orientation or gender identity.
Armed conflict, gang violence, trafficking and organised crime further contribute to the growing numbers.
Indigenous women, environmental defenders and human rights activists remain especially vulnerable. In 2022, 81 women environmental defenders and 34 female human rights defenders were killed.
Despite the alarming figures, UN Women warned that the true scale of femicide is likely far higher due to under-reporting and weak accountability systems.
It said persistent gender inequality, economic hardship, displacement crises and shrinking civic spaces continue to fuel violence against women and girls.
Ongoing efforts by the UN include strengthening legal frameworks, improving data gathering, training law enforcement agencies, expanding survivor-centred services and implementing public campaigns to challenge harmful norms. These initiatives align with Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The agency stressed that only urgent and coordinated global action can halt the rising tide of gender-related killings and protect women and girls across the world.
