In a shocking revelation, the United Nations released a report on Thursday, disclosing that approximately 89,000 women and girls fell victim to femicides in the year 2022, marking the highest annual tally in the past two decades.
This grim statistic has sent shockwaves across the globe, raising concerns about the pressing need to address deep-rooted inequalities and violence against women and girls.
Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), expressed profound concern, emphasizing the urgent need for action. “The alarming number of femicides is a stark reminder that humanity is still grappling with deep-rooted inequalities and violence against women and girls. Each life lost is a call to action, a plea to urgently address structural inequalities, to improve criminal justice responses, so that no woman or girl fears for her life because of her gender.”
The UN report painted a disturbing picture, revealing that more than half of these horrific murders, approximately 55 percent, were perpetrated by family members or intimate partners. In stark contrast, only about 12 percent of male homicide victims met their fate under similar circumstances. This stark gender disparity underscores the systemic nature of violence against women and girls.
Geographically, the report shed light on the disproportionate distribution of femicides, with the highest number of murders occurring in Africa, totaling approximately 20,000 lives lost. Following closely behind was the Asian continent, making it abundantly clear that violence against women and girls knows no boundaries, transcending regions and cultures.
The report’s findings serve as a grave wake-up call to societies worldwide, highlighting the dire need for concerted efforts to combat gender-based violence and eliminate the deeply entrenched inequalities that continue to threaten the lives of women and girls.
As the international community grapples with this alarming surge in femicides, the UN emphasizes the importance of implementing comprehensive measures to protect and empower women and girls, as well as holding perpetrators of such heinous crimes accountable.
