The most dangerous place for a woman is often the one place she is supposed to feel safest: her own home. This chilling reality is the centerpiece of a devastating new report released by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which reveals that the global epidemic of femicide shows no signs of meaningful retreat. According to the latest 2025 femicide brief, a staggering 83,000 women and girls were intentionally killed last year across the globe. Perhaps most harrowing is the fact that 60 per cent of these victims—roughly 50,000 individuals—lost their lives at the hands of their intimate partners or family members. When the data is distilled into a daily timeline, the result is a haunting metric of systemic failure: one woman or girl is killed by someone in her inner circle almost every 10 minutes, an average of 137 lives extinguished every single day.
This data highlights a profound gender disparity in how violence is experienced worldwide. While men make up the majority of homicide victims globally, the context of their deaths is vastly different. Only 11 per cent of male homicides are perpetrated by intimate partners or family members. For men, the threat is typically external—stemming from organized crime, gang violence, or public conflict. For women, however, the threat is intimate, domestic, and deeply personal. The statistics suggest that for women, the threat of lethal violence is inextricably linked to the very relationships that are traditionally associated with care and protection.
The 2025 report emphasizes that these killings do not occur in a vacuum. They are rarely isolated incidents of sudden, inexplicable rage. Instead, femicides are often the final, lethal conclusion of a long "continuum of violence" that begins long before a weapon is drawn. Sarah Hendriks, Director of UN Women’s Policy Division, points out that the path to femicide is frequently paved with early warning signs that society and legal systems often overlook. This continuum can begin with coercive control, psychological manipulation, threats, and harassment. In the modern era, this violence has found a new and potent breeding ground: the digital world.
"Femicides don’t happen in isolation," Hendriks explained during the report’s unveiling. "They often sit on a continuum of violence that can start with controlling behavior, threats, and harassment—including online. The United Nation’s 16 Days campaign this year underscores that digital violence often doesn’t stay online. It can escalate offline and, in the worst cases, contribute to lethal harm, including femicide."
This year’s findings place a significant spotlight on the role of technology-facilitated abuse. As our lives become increasingly tethered to digital platforms, perpetrators are finding new ways to monitor, isolate, and terrorize their victims. Digital violence—which includes everything from GPS stalking and non-consensual sharing of intimate images to the creation of deepfake pornography and gendered disinformation—acts as a catalyst for physical violence. The 2025 UNiTE campaign argues that these digital tools are being used to tighten the "web of control" around victims, making it harder for them to seek help and easier for abusers to track their movements.
The escalation from a threatening text message or an online smear campaign to a physical assault is a trajectory that Hendriks insists must be interrupted. "Every woman and girl has the right to be safe in every part of her life, and that requires systems that intervene early," she stated. "To prevent these killings, we need the implementation of laws that recognize how violence manifests across the lives of women and girls, both online and offline, and hold perpetrators to account well before it turns deadly."
The regional breakdown of the report reveals that no corner of the globe is immune to this crisis, though the rates of violence vary significantly based on geography and socio-political stability. Africa continues to record the highest rate of femicide committed by intimate partners or family members, with an estimated 3 deaths per 100,000 women and girls. The Americas follow with a rate of 1.5 per 100,000, while Oceania stands at 1.4. Asia and Europe reported lower rates at 0.7 and 0.5 per 100,000, respectively. However, experts warn that these figures are likely undercounts. In many regions, the lack of robust reporting mechanisms and the social stigma surrounding domestic violence mean that many gender-related killings are misclassified as general homicides or accidents.
John Brandolino, acting Executive Director of UNODC, emphasized that the home remains a "dangerous and sometimes lethal place" for far too many. He noted that the 2025 femicide brief serves as a "stark reminder of the need for better prevention strategies and criminal justice responses." According to Brandolino, justice systems must move beyond simply reacting to a crime after it has occurred. Instead, there must be a concerted effort to account for the specific conditions—such as economic dependence, social isolation, and lack of legal protection—that allow this extreme form of violence to propagate.
One of the greatest hurdles in the fight against femicide is the persistent gap in data. While the 2024 estimate of 50,000 deaths is slightly lower than the 2023 estimate of 51,100, UN Women and UNODC are quick to clarify that this does not necessarily represent progress. The fluctuation is largely attributed to differences in how data is collected and made available at the national level year-over-year. To address this, the UN is working closely with member states to implement the 2022 statistical framework for measuring gender-related killings. This framework is designed to help countries better identify, record, and classify femicides, ensuring that the "gender motive" behind a killing is not erased in official records.
The launch of the report coincides with the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. This global campaign, which runs from November 25 (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day), seeks to galvanize public action and political will. The 2025 focus on digital violence reflects the rapidly evolving nature of abuse in the 21st century. Technology companies, in particular, are being called to the table to take responsibility for how their platforms are weaponized against women.
The UNiTE campaign is urging governments to strengthen legislation that specifically targets digital abuse, ensuring that "online" crimes carry the same weight and consequences as "offline" ones. This includes ending the culture of impunity for those who use technology to stalk or harass and holding tech giants accountable for the safety of their users. Furthermore, the campaign calls for a surge in investment for digital literacy programs and survivor-centered services, as well as long-term support for women’s rights organizations that are on the front lines of making digital spaces inclusive and safe.
The overarching message of the 2025 report is one of urgency. Femicide is not an inevitable part of the human condition; it is a preventable consequence of systemic gender inequality and the failure of protective institutions. As UN Women continues its mission to shift laws, institutions, and social behaviors, the organization remains steadfast in its belief that gender equality is the only true antidote to this violence.
As the 16 Days of Activism begin, the global community is being asked to look beyond the statistics and see the human lives they represent. Each of the 137 women killed every day was a daughter, a sister, a mother, or a friend. Their deaths are a call to action for a world where "home" is no longer synonymous with "danger," and where the digital frontier is a space of empowerment rather than a tool for destruction. The goal is clear: a world where the rights of women and girls are kept at the center of global progress, ensuring safety, justice, and equality for all—everywhere, and in every part of their lives.
