The Most Dangerous Place for a Women Is Her Home, U.N. Study Shows

The United Nations has released a startling study that shows the most dangerous place for women is inside her own home. The study released to coincide with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women shows that “out of 87,000 recorded female homicide cases last year, 50,000, or 58 percent, were committed by the victims’ intimate partners or family members. The toll equates to six women killed every hour, or 137 killed every day, by people they know.”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that the form of violent acts against women varies from domestic attacks to trafficking, from sexual violence in conflict to child marriage, genital mutilation and femicide.

According to the UN, Guterres noted that “at its core, violence against women and girls is the manifestation of a profound lack of respect – a failure by men to recognize the inherent equality and dignity of women – and that it is tied to the broader issues of power and control in societies.”

Our specialists counted 47 women reported killed, apparently for gender-related reasons, in 21 different countries. Most of these killings are still being investigated.

Here are some of these stories, reported by local media and verified by local authorities the BBC contacted. pic.twitter.com/4gLFwmjnQ6

— BBC 100 Women (@BBC100women) November 26, 2018

Interestingly, however, is that the report also showed that while “the majority of intentional homicide victims are male, women comprise the victims of 82 percent of intimate partner murders. The report also noted that the majority of intimate partner murders corresponded with domestic violence cases.”

Out of the of 87,000 women that were intentionally killed in 2017, the largest number of women killed was in Asia (20,000), followed by Africa (19,000), the Americas (8,000) Europe (3,000) and Oceania (300). “However, with an intimate partner/family-related homicide rate of 3.1 per 100,000 female population, Africa is the region where women run the greatest risk of being killed by their intimate partner or family members, while Europe (0.7 per 100,000 population) is the region where the risk is lowest.”

The BBC highlighted the tragic ways women from around the world have been killed by their partner and/or family including Judith Chesang, a mother of three, who was killed by her husband in Kenya. Neha Sharad Chaudury was killed in an alleged “honor” killing on her 18th birthday. Her parents and another male relative are accused of killing her in their home, according to the BBC. Marie-Amélie was stabbed to death by her husband in France. The couple had separated after four years of marriage.

Click here to read the entire study.