Countries across Europe take first steps to address femicide
The gender-related killing of women and girls, known as femicide, is the most brutal and extreme manifestation of violence against women. Globally, 81,000 women and girls were killed in 2021, and more than half of them died at the hands of an intimate partner or a family member. Moreover, the global report “Gender-related killings of women and girls: Improving data to improve responses to femicide,” launched by UNODC and UN Women in December 2022, estimates that 17,800 women were killed in Asia and 4,500 in Europe, while in the Western Balkans, over half of murdered women were killed by their husbands or former husbands in their own home. According to the global report, “femicide and other forms of violence can and must be prevented through timely and effective interventions.” This is why, over the last decade, UN Women has been spearheading determined efforts against this all-too-pervasive crime.