United Nations Report Finds Most Femicides Are Committed by Intimate Partners and Family Members

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes and UN Women have recently released a new report, Femicides in 2023: Global Estimates of Intimate Partner/Family Member Femicides, tracking the status of intimate partner and domestic violence against women around the world.

According to their findings, nearly 85,000 women across the globe were killed intentionally in 2023. About 60 percent of these femicides were committed by an intimate partner or a family member. This means roughly 140 women are killed by a close partner or relative every day, equating to one woman or girl every 10 minutes.

In 2023, Africa recorded the highest rates of femicide by intimate partners or family members, with a rate of 2.9 victims per 100,000 women. The Americas and Oceania had the next highest rates at 1.6 and 1.5 victims per 100,000 women, respectively. Asia and Europe had significantly lower rates at 0.8 and 0.6 femicides per 100,000 women, respectively.

Femicides in the domestic sphere in Europe and the Americas were primarily committed by intimate partners, representing roughly 64 percent and 58 percent of domestic femicides, respectively. In the rest of the world, the majority of femicides (59 percent) were committed by family members.

Notably, the number of countries publishing data on femicides has decreased by 50 percent since 2020. The report authors believe significant efforts to reverse this negative trend in data availability is necessary to increase government accountability for addressing violence against women.