The month of November was a bit quiet on the internet, but that didn’t mean that there were no reports of femicide across the globe.
Between November 1st and November 30th, an alarming total of 133 cases of gender-based violence surfaced in 13 countries globally. The United States took the lead with 57 reports, closely followed by India with 44. Intimate partner violence emerged as the most prevalent form, affecting women ranging from 1 to 86 years old.
Notably, the #16DaysofActivism Against Gender-Based Violence, an annual international campaign, started on November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ended on December 10th, Human Rights Day.
Our monthly report serves as a vital data repository, shedding light on the extent of this societal issue. It underscores the urgency for comprehensive measures to combat this pervasive problem, pushing for increased awareness, intervention, and support for victims. The numbers within our report serve as stark statistics and a call to action for a world that must unite to protect its most vulnerable members.
Conversations surrounding femicide never see women as victims but as cautionary tales. It is important to let sympathy for these women always take precedence rather than moral lessons because they don’t stop women from being killed no matter the precautions they take. For instance, in the #JusticeforAusta campaign, even after Benjamin Best was arrested at a Sierra Leone nightclub, he is yet to be deported to Nigeria. This shows that in most cases, the chances of women getting justice are slim to none.
What happens when there is less and less dialogue on social media based on a lack of media coverage on femicide? We must continue to keep these conversations going and help shed light on the critical need to address the underlying issues that lead to such acts of violence and radicalization. This is not about pitting one gender against the other; rather, it’s about recognizing the urgency of addressing the systemic problems that perpetuate violence against women and girls.
The focus must be on promoting gender equality, educating young individuals about respect, consent, and empathy, and creating an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Only through such comprehensive efforts can we hope to put an end to the devastating impact of gender-based violence and femicide.
The question remains: Do women cease being victims of gender-based violence, regardless of age? Can they find justice even in the grave? Why do their perpetrators still roam freely, unaccountable for their heinous actions?
The United Nations grimly acknowledges that we are far from achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5 (on female equality and empowerment) as we approach the halfway mark in the race to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2018, one in every seven women (13 per cent of women aged 15 to 49) reported experiencing physical and sexual violence from an intimate partner or husband in the preceding 12 months.
These figures do not even encompass the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has heightened the risk factors for violence against women. UN Women reported that during this pandemic, 7 out of 10 women reported an increase in domestic violence and 3 out of 5 women reported an increase in sexual harassment in public places. Also, according to the World Health Organization, approximately 736 million people have fallen victim to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual assault by a non-partner—a statistic that has remained distressingly stable over the past decade.
Most of the horrifying cases of gender-based violence reported in the United States were murder-suicides, women killed in front of their children and women who were killed together with their children their current and their estranged partners.
The profoundly troubling pattern continued globally, from India to South Africa to the United Kingdom to Kenya to Pakistan as women were killed by their husbands, killed by their brother-in-law and their bodies dumped with multiple stab wounds.
The pressing question we must address is: When do we move beyond mere outrage and translate our empathy into tangible action? What do we do when there is no more outrage? When do we build a world where justice prevails, where every life is valued, cherished, and protected?
The time has come for us to transform our collective anguish into unyielding advocacy, to demand an end to the cycle of violence, and to create a future where every woman can live free from fear and violence.
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