(Image source from: Yahoo)
The most dangerous place for women is their own home, says a new study from the United Nations, released on Sunday, which is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) studied statistics encompassing gender-related killing of girls and women.
The outcome has been lurid as 58 percent of the approximately 87,000 women killed earlier this year were murdered by a partner or family member. Over a third of women dead in 2017 were killed by a former or current partner, and 137 women are allegedly killed by family members every day.
Overall, murder victims tend to be male - and are most probable to be killed by a stranger. For women, however, it is more possible for them to be killed by someone they really know, rather than a stranger.
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With 20,000 reported cases in 2017, Asia is technically the area with the highest amount of female victims who were killed by a spouse or family member. This number is followed by 19,000 cases in Africa, 8,000 in the Americas, 3,000 in Europe, and 800 in Oceania.
It should be noted, however, that the populations of these areas affect the results. Technically, the areas with the highest rates of women killed by a partner or family member are Africa and the Americas. In Africa, these murders accounted for 3.1 victims per 100,000 of the female population and in the Americas, the rate was 1.6 victims per 100,000 of the female population. This is in comparison to only 0.9 per 100,000 in Asia. Europe reportedly had the lowest rate, with 0.7 female murders per 100,000 women.
About 6 women were killed by intimate partners or family members every hour in 2017!
— UN Office on Drugs and Crime (@UNODC) November 26, 2018
We must step up efforts to counter violence against women and girls before it escalates into gender-related killing.
New #UNODC report: https://t.co/YtuzAnDfhC#HearMeToo #OrangeTheWorld #16days pic.twitter.com/3kpSyrGYrS
These new statistics show an increase from the numbers recorded in 2012, with the number of women having been killed by a family member or spouse coming in at 48,000 women, or 47 percent of all female murder victims.
To the extent that solutions to this problem go, the UN is recommending that, police officers, the criminal justice system, and health and social services get down to work together to fight the problem. Additionally, the study says that men, in particular, should speak up regarding the issue and advocate for the safety of women.
"In order to prevent and tackle gender-related killing of women and girls, men need to be involved in efforts to combat intimate partner violence/family-related homicide and in changing cultural norms that move away from violent masculinity and gender stereotypes," the study read.
According to UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov, these gender-based killings can be the consequence of "gender inequality, discrimination, and negative stereotypes."
-Sowmya Sangam
