LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A woman or girl was killed every 10 minutes in 2023. That's according to a new report released today by the United Nations.
ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
The report looks at femicide or gender-related killings. And it finds that the vast majority of killings were perpetrated by a partner or close relative.
FADEL: NPR global health correspondent Fatma Tanis is here to tell us more. Good morning, Fatma.
FATMA TANIS, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So what's the big takeaway from this report?
TANIS: The key takeaway is that femicide is happening at a high rate, and it is universal. Last year, the report says that a total of 85,000 women and girls were intentionally killed. Now, 60% of those people were killed by their partners, husbands, boyfriends or family members. In some regions like Africa and Asia, we saw the highest numbers. I spoke with Kalliopi Mingeirou. She's the U.N. women's chief of ending violence against women. And here's how she put it.
KALLIOPI MINGEIROU: This is a war against women. The number we have there is even bigger than fatalities that we see being recorded in a war.
TANIS: She says that for many women and girls around the world, their home is not a safe place, and that the people they trust the most can be the most dangerous in their lives. Now, Leila, many countries have laws meant to prevent this kind of violence. But despite that, the report shows even those countries are seeing high rates of femicide.
FADEL: I mean, the number is just shocking, right? Every 10 minutes - but if there are laws in place to prevent femicide, why are the numbers still so high?
TANIS: Researchers say it's a lack of enforcement. In many countries, women are reporting violence from their partners. But often, you see they are dismissed by police or referred to social services instead. Beatriz Garcia Nice is a researcher in Ecuador. She leads the gender-based violence project for the Wilson Center. It's a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. Here's how she explained it.
BEATRIZ GARCIA NICE: In Mexico, between 2018 and 2020, 93% of known femicide cases were not prosecuted. That's insane. And Mexico has some of the best laws on femicide and gender-based violence, yet it's one of the most violent countries for women.
TANIS: And she says the impunity has led to women being distrustful of the system in Mexico, and many don't report incidents to police anymore. I want to bring up another country, South Africa. Again, it has the laws, but it has one of the highest rates of femicide. I spoke to Ronel Koekemoer. She's with the local organization called Gender Rights in Tech. She works with friends and family of femicide victims to help get them justice. And before that, she worked with survivors of gender-based violence.
RONEL KOEKEMOER: I can't tell you how many times, when the perpetrator would get bail, the survivor was basically told by the prosecutor, it's got a lot to do with the capacity in the holding cells and in the prisons. And that that's more of the consideration than the survivor's actual safety.
TANIS: So when the system fails to protect survivors, it leads to them being killed.
FADEL: Now, is there any good news? Any reason to be hopeful?
TANIS: There is. You know, in Ecuador, they're creating safe space shelters for women who are at risk. In Colombia, government branches are coordinating. Social services is working with the judicial system to respond. But experts said that there's a lot of work to be done at social, cultural and especially family levels - the way children are being raised, and whether they are taught equality and mutual respect when it comes to other genders.
FADEL: That's NPR's Fatma Tanis. Thank you, Fatma.
TANIS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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