More than half of women killed in 2017 have been killed by family or partners, study shows

According to a study recently released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, more than half of the world's murdered women last year were killed by intimate partners or their family members . According to the figures, about six women are killed every hour by an acquaintance.

The study on gender-related homicides of women and girls is part of the UK's next global homicide survey. It was released on Sunday to coincide with the United States' International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which has been marked by parades and demonstrations around the world. powered by the #MeToo movement.

The study found that of the 87,000 women intentionally killed worldwide in 2017, 58% – 50,000 women – were killed by an intimate partner or a family member. The figures show a substantial increase over the 2012 global homicide survey in the United States, which found that 48,000 women were killed by family members or intimate partners, accounting for 47% of all deaths. all victims of homicide.

For Kiersten Stewart, director of public policy and advocacy for the anti-violence group Futures Without Violence, the numbers are disturbing, but not surprising.

"This study confirms what we have known for a long time – for women, husbands, boyfriends and family members are the most dangerous people in their lives, and those who are most at risk of hurting or killing them, "said Stewart.

While men generally account for the largest percentage of homicide victims in the world – 80% – women are far more likely than men to be targeted by an intimate partner or a member of the family, revealed the study. Eighty-two percent of homicide victims targeted by their intimate partner are women.

The study reveals that women in Africa and the Americas are more likely to be killed by their intimate partners or their families. Murders are not usually random or spontaneous, but rather derive from a long-term pattern of gender-based violence, the study found.

The study found that the persistent problem shows no signs of improvement. It found that "tangible progress in protecting and safeguarding the lives of women victims of domestic / family homicide has not been achieved in recent years, despite the legislation and programs developed to eliminate violence against women ".

In terms of solutions, Stewart said governments and communities should focus on prevention programs, victim services and offender accountability. Efforts will vary according to the challenges faced in each region, Stewart said, highlighting the challenges faced by US domestic law enforcement in the United States. In the United States, women are 16 times more likely to be killed than women in other developed countries, according to the Everytown Defense Group for Gun Safety. According to the group, 50 American women are shot dead by an intimate partner on average per month. The presence of a firearm in a domestic violence situation makes five times more likely the death of a woman.

Federal law prohibits individuals convicted of spousal violence from buying or owning firearms, but their advocates claim that there are still dangerous gaps and that states need to do more to make sure that the perpetrators deliver their weapons.

Stewart says any improvements will also need to address the root causes of global and US-wide violence, including gender inequality and long-standing social norms that drive men to commit crimes. acts of violence against women and other men.

"At the heart of the fight against violence is changing the behavior of men, this is what we will have to do: challenge the norms that drive so many young men to violence and think that to be part of the man is a man, "Stewart said.