Last year, more than 83,000 women and girls were victims of intentional homicide worldwide, according to new figures released by the United Nations on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
At least 50,000 of these victims were murdered by their partners or other family members in 2024—a staggering reality that means one woman is killed every ten minutes by someone in her own home.
The data, compiled by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), highlight an unchanging truth: despite global pledges, “real progress” remains painfully absent in the fight against femicide.
The Most Dangerous Place for Women Remains Their Home
In 2023, 83,000 women worldwide were intentionally killed.
Of those, 60% were murdered by a current or former partner or a close relative, including fathers, uncles, brothers—sometimes even mothers.
This translates into 137 women and girls killed every day, most of them within what should be the safest place: their homes.
Although the 2024 estimate (50,000) is slightly lower than that of 2023 (51,100), the UN stresses this does not represent actual improvement. Instead, the discrepancy stems from variations in how countries record and report data.
The UN agencies warn:
“The numbers remain unchanged, despite years of global commitments.”
Femicide continues to claim tens of thousands of lives annually, with no indication of real improvement.
Women represented only 20% of all homicide victims globally in 2024, yet 60% of women were killed in private spaces, compared with only 11% of male victims.
Africa Records the Highest Number of Femicide Victims
No region is free from the problem.
However, the highest number of women and girls killed by family members in 2024 was recorded in Africa, with an estimated 22,000 victims.
Femicide Is the End of a Long Chain of Violence
Femicide rarely occurs in isolation.
“Femicide does not happen out of nowhere,” explains Sarah Hendriks, Policy Director at UN Women.
“It is part of a cycle of violence that may begin with coercive control, threats, or harassment—including online harassment.”
The report warns that technological developments have worsened violence against women, enabling new forms of abuse such as:
- Non-consensual sharing of images and personal data
- AI-generated “deepfake” videos
- Digital stalking and cyber-harassment
Online violence is not confined to screens.
It often escalates offline and can lead to physical harm—and in the worst cases, femicide.
The Urgent Call for New Laws
To prevent these killings, Hendriks insists that governments must adopt legislation recognising all forms of violence, both online and offline, and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable:
“We need laws that recognise the different kinds of violence women and girls face—online and beyond—and that force perpetrators to be held accountable before they become killers.”
