TANZANIA – The deadliest place for women is the home and an average of 140 women and girls were killed every day by an intimate partner or family member last year, two United Nations agencies reported Monday.

Globally, an intimate partner or family member was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 51,100 women and girls in 2023, an increase from the estimated 48,800 victims in 2022, UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The report released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women said the increase was largely due to more data available in countries and not more killings.

But both agencies stressed that “women and girls around the world continue to be affected by this extreme form of gender-based violence and no region is excluded.” And they said, “Home is the most dangerous place for women and girls.”

The highest number of killings of intimate partners and family members took place in Africa – with an estimated 21,700 victims in 2023, according to the report. Africa also has the highest number of victims relative to the size of its population – 2.9 victims per 100,000 people.

High rates were also recorded last year in the Americas, with 1.6 female victims per 100,000 inhabitants, and in Oceania, with 1.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, the report said. Rates were significantly lower in Asia, at 0.8 victims per 100,000 inhabitants, and in Europe, at 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.

According to the report, the intentional killing of women in the private sphere in Europe and the Americas is largely committed by intimate partners.

On the other hand, the vast majority of male homicides take place outside the home and family, the report specifies.

“Even though men and boys represent the vast majority of homicide victims“Women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by deadly violence in the private sphere,” the report said.

“An estimated 80% of all homicide victims in 2023 were men and 20% were women, but deadly violence within the family takes a far greater toll on women than men, with nearly 60 % of all women intentionally killed in 2023 as victims. of homicide between intimate partners and family members,” he said.

The report indicates that despite efforts to prevent the murder of women and girls by country, their murders “remain at alarming levels”.

“They are often the culmination of repeated episodes of gender-based violence, meaning they can be prevented with rapid and effective interventions,” the two agencies said.