Infographic | Women murdered by family members in 2021

A new study by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime showed that more than five women or girls were killed every hour by someone in their own family in 2021.

According to the report, an estimated 81,100 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2021, and the overall number of female murders remained largely unchanged over the past decade.

The report said that most killings of women and girls are gender motivated. In 2021, around 45,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members. In terms of absolute murders, Asia was the worst offending region, with 17,800 murders, with Africa close behind with 17,200 murders.

However, when considering the number of female murders as a factor of population, Africa was found to be the worst offender, with 2.5 murders by intimate partners or family members per 1,00,000 population.

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The report also said that while the overwhelming majority of murders worldwide were committed against men and boys at 81 per cent, women and girls were disproportionately affected by homicidal violence in the private sphere. Approximately 56 per cent of all female murders were committed by intimate partners or other family members, while only 11 per cent of male murders were perpetrated in the private sphere, the report said.

The report also said that estimating the global number of gender-related killings of women and girls was challenging, and that there were data gaps. Of the estimated 81,100 female murders in 2021, roughly four in ten had no contextual information to allow them to be identified and counted as gender-related killings.