Home 'most dangerous' place for women: UN Study

On one hand where the world is progressing in every possible manner possible, women, on the hand, are facing the backlash of traumatising adversities. To worsen the situation, women do not even have a feeling of security in their own homes. According to a new UN study, published on Sunday, it claims that more than half the women who were murdered worldwide in 2017 were killed by their partners or family members, making the home “the most dangerous place for a woman.”

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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime calculated that a total of 87,000 female homicide cases were recorded worldwide in 2017, out of which some 50,000 – or 58 percent – were committed by the victims’ intimate partners or family members. The statistics was released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

It was recorded that around 30,000, or 34 percent of the crime was committed by intimate partners alone. “This amounts to some six women being killed every hour by people they know,” the Vienna-based body said. The vast majority — around 80 per cent — of homicide victims worldwide were men, but “women continue to pay the highest price as a result of gender inequality, discrimination and negative stereotypes,” said UNODC chief Yury Fedotov. “They are also the most likely to be killed by intimate partners and family… making the home the most dangerous place for a woman,” he said.

“The fact that women continue to be affected by this type of violence to a greater degree than men is indicative of an imbalance in power relations between women and men inside the domestic sphere.” According to the UNODC calculations, the global rate of female homicide victims was recorded at around 1.3 victims per 10,000 female population.

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The study also revealed that women were at most risks to be killed by intimate partners of family members in countries of Africa and America.

Homicide ratio per 100,000 female population in different regions of the world:

Africa     : 3.1 victims

America  : 1.6 victims

Oceania  : 1.3 victims

Asia        : 0.9 victims

Europe    : 0.7 victims

According to the UNODC, “no tangible progress” in combatting the scourge had been made in recent years “despite legislation and programmes developed to eradicate violence against women.”

The report’s conclusions “highlight the need for effective crime prevention and criminal justice responses to violence against women,” the UNODC said, stressing the need for measures to boost safety and empower potential victims while holding their abusers accountable. The study highlighted the need for an enhanced coordination between the police and justice system as well as health and social services. UNODC also concluded that in order to reduce the crimes, it is important to involve men in the solutions, including through early education.