No fewer than 89,000 women and girls were killed in 2022 across the globe, the United Nations (UN) said on Thursday.
According to the UN, this is the highest annual figure recorded in the past 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 and improve criminal justice responses so that no woman or girl fears for her life because of her gender.’’
According to Waly, more than half of these homicides, or around 55 percent, were committed by family members or partners, compared to about 12 percent of male homicide victims.
According to him, Africa had the highest number of murders of women and girls, over 20,000, followed by Asia.
