The United Nations on Thursday reported that approximately 89,000 women and girls were killed worldwide in 2022.
According to the UN report, this marks the highest annual tally documented in the last two decades.
“The alarming number of femicides is a stark reminder that humanity is still grappling with deep-rooted inequalities and violence against women and girls,’’ said Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC, in a statement.
“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.’’
Waly noted that over half of these homicides, approximately 55 percent, were perpetrated by family members or partners, a stark contrast to the roughly 12 percent observed in male victims of homicide.
He added that the highest incidence of women and girls being murdered, totaling around 20,000 cases, occurred in Africa, followed by Asia.