TheCable

The United Nations (UN) says about 89,000 women and girls were killed worldwide in 2022.

According to the report, this is the highest annual figure recorded in the past two decades.

In a statement on Thursday, Ghada Waly, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said the rising number of femicides is a reminder that humanity is still grappling with inequality and patriarchy.

“The alarming number of femicides is a stark reminder that humanity is still grappling with deep-rooted inequalities and violence against women and girls,” Waly said.

“Each life lost is a call to action, a plea to urgently address structural inequalities, to improve criminal justice responses, so that no woman or girl fears for her life because of her gender.”

Waly said more than half of these murders, around 55 percent, were committed by family members or partners, compared to about 12 percent of male victims of homicide.

She added that Africa had the highest number of murders of women and girls (which is around 20,000) followed by Asia.