More than five women killed every hour in 2021

More than five women and girls were killed every hour by a family member in 2021, according to new UN figures on femicide.

A report, published to mark the start of 16 days of activism to end violence against women and girls, showed that 45,000 women and girls – more than half (56%) of the 81,100 murdered last year worldwide – were killed by their husband, partner or other relative. Roughly four in 10 deaths in 2021 were not counted as femicides because there was insufficient data. Official figures on femicide have remained largely unchanged over the past decade.