Yet Another Underreported Crime: Femicide

Human Wrongs Watch By Baher Kamal

MADRID, 23 November 2024 – Human atrocities seem to have become so ‘normalised’ that more and more major crimes continue to be either nearly ignored, or shortly reported every now and then… or even only once a year.

16 Days of Activism: #NoExcuse. UNiTE to End Violence against Women

Among those crimes lays the fact that a girl or a woman is killed every 10 minutes, while 70% of girls and women in conflict, war, climate catastrophes, and humanitarian crisis, experience gender-based violence, with rape being just an additional weapon. 

One of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations

Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Much so, that globally, almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life.

“This scourge has intensified in different settings, including the workplace and online spaces, and has been exacerbated by conflicts, and climate change,” further reports the UN agency in charge of delivering programmes, policies and standards that uphold women’s human rights: UN Women.
Source: UN Women.

Among those crimes lays the fact that a girl or a woman is killed every 10 minutes, while 70% of girls and women in conflict, war, climate catastrophes, and humanitarian crisis, experience gender-based violence, with rape being just an additional weapon. 

A most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations

Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Much so, that globally, almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life.

“This scourge has intensified in different settings, including the workplace and online spaces, and has been exacerbated by conflicts, and climate change,” further reports the UN agency in charge of delivering programmes, policies and standards that uphold women’s human rights: UN Women.

The brutal act that kills

For at least 51,100 women in 2023, the cycle of gender-based violence ended with one final and brutal act—their murder by partners and family members, reveals UN Women on the occasion of the 2024 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

“That means a woman was killed every 10 minutes.”

But, what is violence against girls and women?

The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as:

“any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

Impunity, silence, stigma…

However, such an unspeakable brutality remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it, warns UN Women. It can manifest in physical, sexual and psychological forms, encompassing:

• Intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide);

• Sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber- harassment);
• Human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);
• Female genital mutilation;
• Child marriage,
• Some women and girls, such as those in vulnerable situations or humanitarian crises, migrants, LGTBI, indigenous people or those with disabilities, face greater risk.

Reported only if it is local and there is a photo or video?

Indeed, such an atrocity jumps to the news largely because it is committed in a in a local setting, or as part of national statistics, as it is mostly the case in any given Western country.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women marks the launch of the UNiTE campaign (Nov 25- Dec 10) — an initiative of 16 days of activism concluding on the day that commemorates the International Human Rights Day (10 December).

The campaign aims at drawing the world’s attention on femicides and more forms of violence against girls and women worldwide, such as the following ones, among many others:

• • Globally, an estimated 736 million women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Girls are at particular risk of violence—1 in 4 adolescent girls is abused by their partners.
  • 16% to 58% of women globally experience technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Generation Z and Millennials are the most affected.
  • 70% of women in conflict, war, and humanitarian crisis, experience gender-based violence.
  • Worldwide, female genital mutilation has increased by 15% compared to data from eight years ago.

More data from UN Women

Does anybody care, really?

The facts are there. And, tragically enough, hardly the warlords, the big business, or the –by them installed– politicians and giant private mainstream media would be expected to act to put an end to such atrocity.

Also tragically enough, little hope could appear in a scenario where the right, far-right and extreme right wave is growingly flooding the entire world.

Recent articles:

Born Innocent, Raised Violent: The Fate of a Billion Children

‘Drill, Baby, Drill’

2024 Human Wrongs Watch