25 November 2014
Vienna, 25 November 2014 - For some women, today, the home is not a sanctuary, but a brutal and dangerous trap.
Based on UNODC's Global Homicide Report 2013, women continue to be killed in large numbers by intimate partners and family members. The perpetrator, in these cases, is overwhelmingly male.
Out of the 93,000 female homicides in 2012, 43,600 women, nearly 50 per cent, were killed in this way. This compares with only six per cent of all male homicides.
But it is not just about female homicide. The same UNODC report found that roughly one quarter to one third of women in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom experienced physical or sexual violence, or both, at the hands of an intimate partner.
There has been progress. All United Nations Member States have agreed on standards to eliminate violence against women, but much more needs to be done to effectively prevent, investigate prosecute, and punish perpetrators.
UNODC is helping by identifying best practices that can prevent and punish the killing of women and girls. Another key area is the need for better statistics, which often form the basis for greater understanding and subsequent action.
Nearly twenty years ago, the UN Fourth world Conference on Women, held in Beijing, adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for the elimination of violence against women.
Today, this Declaration continues to be the high-water mark for the world's resolve to end violence against women, and in doing so, ensure that women and girls enjoy equality and the full protection of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Next year sees the 20 th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women, UNODC pledges to work closely with its partners, including UN Women, to end violence against women and to uphold the principles of this landmark declaration.
For further information, please contact:
David Dadge
Spokesperson, UNODC
Telephone: (+43- 1) 26060-5629
Mobile: (+43) 699-1459-5629
Email: david.dadge[at]unvienna.org
