UN WOMEN: Five essential facts to know about femicide

Femicide (or feminicide, as it is referred to in some contexts) is defined as an intentional killing with a gender-related motivation. It is different from homicide, where the motivation may not be gender-related. 

Femicide is driven by discrimination against women and girls, unequal power relations, gender stereotypes or harmful social norms. It is the most extreme and brutal manifestation of violence against women and girls which occurs on a continuum of multiple and related forms of violence, at home, in workplaces, schools or public spaces, including intimate partner violence, sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence, harmful practices and trafficking.

In 2023, around 51,100 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members (including fathers, mothers, uncles and brothers). This means that, on average, 140 women or girls are killed every day by someone in their own family. Current and former intimate partners are by far the most likely perpetrators of femicide, accounting for an average of 60 per cent of all intimate partner and family-related killings. 

In many cases, only gender-related killings perpetrated by an intimate partner or family member are counted as femicides—yet we know that gender-related killings take place in many contexts beyond the private sphere. They can be related to rape or sexual violence by someone unknown to the victim; linked to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation or so-called honor killings; a result of hate crimes linked to sexual orientation or gender identity; or connected with armed conflict, gangs, human trafficking and other forms of organized crime.  

This year recorded the  highest number of  femicides perpetrated by intimate partners or family members, indicating that the world is failing to stop deaths that could be prevented through early intervention, gender-responsive policing and justice, and access to survivor-centred support and protection.

Femicide is a global crisis that affects women and girls in every country and territory. According to the new report, in 2023, Africa recorded the largest absolute and relative numbers of female intimate partner and family-related killings with an estimated 21,700 victims (2.9 victims per 100,000). The Americas and Oceania also recorded high rates of intimate partner/family-related femicide in 2023, (at 1.6 and 1.5 per 100,000 respectively), while the rates were significantly lower in Asia and Europe (at 0.8 and 0.6 per 100,000 respectively).

While the numbers presented in the report are alarmingly high, they are the tip of the iceberg. Too many victims of femicide still go uncounted: for roughly four in ten intentional murders of women and girls, there is not enough information to identify them as gender-related killings because of national variation in criminal justice recording and investigation practices. 

To know and respond to the true scale of the problem, it is critical to have comprehensive disaggregated data. To help move beyond the current limitations in data collection, UNODC and UN Women developed the statistical framework for measuring the gender-related killing of women and girls (“femicide/feminicide”), approved by the United Nations Statistical Commission in March 2022. 

Behind each number, there is a woman or girl whose life has been brutally ended because of male violence, misogyny and social norms that tolerate and perpetuate violence against women and girls.

Women in the public eye, including those in politics, women human rights defenders, and journalists are often targets of deliberate acts of violence, both online and offline, with some leading to fatal outcomes and intentional killings. 

Women environmental defenders were visible in their resistance in at least a quarter of all socio-environmental conflicts worldwide as of January 2022, and in 81 of those conflicts, they were killed. In 2023, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) alerted that women human rights defenders were targeted twice over, for their work and their gender, both online and offline. OHCHR documented at least 34 women human rights defenders killed in conflict-affected countries in 2022. 

Despite data limitations, the available evidence from Canada and Australia suggests that indigenous women are disproportionately affected by gender related killings. At 4.3 per 100,000 women and girls, the rate of female homicide in Canada was five times higher among Indigenous than among non-Indigenous women and girls in 2021. 

With violence against transgender and gender-diverse people on the rise, the Trans Murder Monitoring 2023 research data showed that 94 per cent of the 321 trans and gender-diverse people reported murdered were trans women or trans feminine people. The number gives a small glimpse into the reality and trends as the data is based on only reported cases, and not all transgender victims are identified as trans or gender diverse in the reports of their deaths. 

To prevent femicide, national authorities must record comprehensive data on victims. By identifying women and girls at greater risk, countries can better inform prevention and protection mechanisms.

Gender-related killings and other forms of violence against women and girls are not inevitable. Often, femicide/feminicide is a culmination of repeated and escalating episodes of gender-based violence, which means it can and must be prevented if the early signs of violence are addressed effectively. Initiatives that focus on primary prevention, changing social norms, and engaging whole communities to create zero tolerance for violence against women, work best in preventing gender-related killings.  

The police and justice sectors have an important role to play, by believing and supporting survivors of gender-based violence, responding to reports of violence, and punishing perpetrators to end impunity.  In too many cases, victims of femicide had previously reported violence and their killings could have been prevented.  

In-depth reviews of gender-related killings, involving families and communities, are a promising approach to drive reforms and improve institutional responses. By analyzing past homicides, these reviews aim to identify gaps and prevent future femicides. 

In South Africa, a significant reduction in femicide cases was linked to strong laws and policies aimed at preventing gender-based violence, strict firearms controls, and the fostering of space for women’s rights and community groups to share knowledge and shape policy. 

In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Family Violence Death Review Committee analyzed 320 family violence deaths (2009-2020), revealing that 56 per cent of victims were women and girls. The findings highlighted systemic issues, such as biased case records, and inadequate responsiveness of agencies when dealing with Māori, women, children, and people with disabilities. To address this, the committee recommended adopting methods used by Kaupapa Māori organizations. This more respectful approach focuses on well-being, training for service providers to create more responsive systems, and family-focused interventions. More research is required to better understand what is driving increased femicide in certain contexts, and what factors have enabled decreases in others to better inform prevention strategies.  

But what we do know, is that women’s rights organizations play a crucial role in preventing violence against women and girls, by driving policy change, holding governments to account, and providing critical survivor-centered services. Yet, less than one per cent of global aid and development spending targeted gender-based violence in 2022.  

Strengthening financial support to women’s rights organizations is critical in reducing and preventing gender-related killings and all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls. 

As the world prepares to mark the 30th year of the visionary Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which included a blueprint of actions to end all forms of violence against women and girls, join the UNiTE campaign for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence: 

#NoExcuse: Take action to stop violence against women

• End impunity by holding perpetrators accountable and establishing zero tolerance of violence against women and girls. 

• Adopt, implement and fund National Action Plans to end violence against women and girls.  

• Invest in prevention and women’s rights organizations to ensure rights and access to essential services for survivors.