Behind closed doors: the deadly reality of femicide
United Nations Western Europe
Official account: United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe 🌍 Informing and engaging Europeans.
Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed by an intimate partner or a family member. This number should be shocking, but what’s even more alarming is that the actual number is likely far higher because of systematic underreporting. Officially, 85,000 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2023. 51,100 of these lives were lost because of an intimate partner or a family member. This crime against women is called femicide. Defined as the killing of a woman by an intimate partner and the death of a woman as a result of a practice that is harmful to women. These practices include, but are not limited to, intimate partner violence, dowry-related deaths, honour killings, and deaths related to harmful practices like female genital mutilation or unsafe abortion.
The home remains the most dangerous place for women and girls. While the vast majority of male homicides occur outside the domestic sphere, 60% of female deaths occur within the walls of their own homes. On average, 140 women or girls were killed every day in 2023 by someone in their own family. Additionally, available data from France, South Africa, and Colombia reveals a pattern: a significant portion of women killed by their intimate partners, ranging from 22% to 37%, had previously reported experiencing physical, sexual, or psychological violence from the same person. This reality underscores the urgent need for more robust systems to address and prevent domestic violence and its deadly consequences, as many femicides could be prevented.
The concept of femicide has grown increasingly complex since its introduction in 1976 by Diana Russell, who defined it as “the murders of women by men motivated by hatred, contempt, pleasure, or a sense of ownership of women” and “the killing of females by males because they are females.” Over the years, various adaptations of the term have emerged, leading to inconsistent definitions across regions and countries. This lack of standardisation complicates determining who and what counts as femicide, making accurate reporting a challenge.
Femicide in Europe
Due to a lack of sufficient data in other regions, time trends in intimate partner/family-related femicide can currently only be monitored in the Americas and Europe. In Europe, the rate of intimate partner/family-related femicides decreased slowly (-20%) between 2010 and 2023. This decrease is a result of slowly declining rates of femicides in Northern, Eastern and Southern European countries. However, in Europe, 64% of femicides are committed by the woman’s intimate partner. This is the highest number globally. By comparison, in other regions, an average of 41% of femicides are perpetrated by intimate partners, while family members carry out 59%. It highlights the need for improved monitoring of domestic violence in Europe, as femicide is often the result of repeated abuse and can be considered the ultimate form of domestic violence.
Even though Europe has implemented various domestic violence laws through the Istanbul Convention, more needs to be done. There is evidence that countries with domestic violence laws report lower rates of intimate partner violence (9.5%) compared to those without such legislation (16.1%). Not all countries in Europe provide equal legal protections. For instance, some nations do not criminalise marital rape explicitly. A fact that needs to change, along with greater consistency from law enforcement, as survivors of domestic violence still face barriers such as a lack of police training, societal stigma, and inadequate funding for shelters and support systems.
Spain is one country making notable progress in addressing domestic violence. Spain’s "Organic Law 1/2004 on Integrated Protection Measures against Gender Violence" is particularly noteworthy for its comprehensive approach. It provides a framework to combat gender-based violence by defining various forms of abuse, establishing specialised courts, and offering protective measures such as restraining orders. It ensures access to victim support services, including shelters and legal aid, promotes prevention through education and awareness, and integrates a gender perspective into public policies. The law aims to prevent violence, support survivors, and ensure accountability.
The most vulnerable
Almost 1 in 3 women globally have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their lives. Intersectionality plays a crucial role in understanding violence against women, as it recognises that people’s lives are shaped by their identities, relationships, and social factors. These intersecting factors—such as race, class, gender, and other power structures like patriarchy, ableism, colonialism, imperialism, homophobia, and racism—can amplify both privilege and oppression.
With this in mind, adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to intimate partner violence, facing a higher risk than adult women. By the time they reach 19 years old, nearly 1 in 4 adolescent girls (24%) who have been in a relationship have already endured physical, sexual, or psychological abuse. Furthermore, due to inequalities in race, class, and age, girls and marginalised women are disproportionately affected by violence and harmful practices, such as partner abuse, child marriage, and female genital mutilation.
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The impact of violence against women extends far beyond the victims, affecting their families, communities, and society at large. The consequences are vast, including increased healthcare and legal costs and productivity losses, all of which strain national budgets and hinder overall development.
Adding to these challenges is the global backlash against gender equality, the climate crisis, escalating conflicts, and emerging threats from rapid technological changes, which further complicate efforts to combat violence against women. The decline in global data on femicide highlights the urgency for greater accountability in addressing gender-based killings. Since 2020, fewer countries are reporting data on femicides, particularly those committed by intimate partners or family members, with only a small number of nations tracking femicides outside the domestic sphere.
What needs to be done
To effectively combat violence against women, a comprehensive approach is needed, which includes:
While more than six in seven women and girls still live in countries without strong protective laws, there is cause for hope. As of 2023, 104 countries have comprehensive domestic violence laws, and 78% of countries now provide budgetary commitments for VAWG services, showing that progress and policy change are achievable. All in all, the global scale of femicide and gender-based violence demands urgent and comprehensive action. With nearly 1 in 3 women experiencing intimate partner or sexual violence, and the home remaining the most dangerous place for women, it’s clear that current efforts are insufficient. While some countries, such as Spain, have made significant progress in addressing domestic violence through comprehensive legal frameworks, the need for consistent enforcement and better resource allocation remains. To truly end femicide and reduce violence against women, we must ensure access to justice for domestic violence survivors, and provide adequate support systems. More research, increased funding, and stronger policies are essential to reversing these alarming trends. Only through collective action across legal, social, and institutional levels, can we begin to dismantle the structures that perpetuate violence against women and move towards a safer, more equal world for all.
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