MORE THAN 50,000 women and girls were killed by their partners or family members around the world in 2024, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

In a report to mark this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women this the death toll was equivalent to a killing every 10 minutes or 137 per day.

The report warned that femicide continues to claim tens of thousands of lives each year with “no sign of real progress.”

Overall, 83,000 women and girls were intentionally killed across the world last year — 60 per cent of the killings were at the hands of partners or relatives.

In comparison, 11 per cent of men were killed by family members or partners.

The report warns that many of the murders were preventable but gaps in protection, police responses and social support systems leave women at high risk.

The figures are likely to be an underestimate, due to survivors’ fear of reporting and poor data collection.

John Brandolino, the acting executive director of UNODC said: “The home remains a dangerous and sometimes lethal place for too many women and girls around the world.”

Director of the UN Women’s policy division Sarah Hendriks said femicides often sit on a “continuum of violence” that can begin with controlling behaviour, harassment and online abuse.

She said: “Digital violence often doesn’t stay online. It can escalate offline and, in the worst cases, contribute to lethal harm.”

The report says that Africa recorded the highest rate of femicide by partners or family members followed by the Americas, Oceania, Asia and Europe.

UN Women said that it was calling for co-ordinated efforts involving schools, workplaces, public services and local communities to help spot early signs of violence.

Meanwhile, Italy’s parliament on Tuesday approved a law that introduces femicide into the country’s criminal law and punishes it with life in prison.

The law won bipartisan support from the centre-right majority and the centre-left opposition in the final vote in the Lower Chamber, passing with 237 votes in favour.

The law, backed by the far-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, comes in response to a series of killings and other violence targeting women in Italy.

Ms Meloni said: “We have doubled funding for anti-violence centers and shelters, promoted an emergency hotline and implemented innovative education and awareness-raising activities.

“These are concrete steps forward, but we won’t stop here. We must continue to do much more, every day.”