At least 17,400 women killed by partners or family members in Asia in 2024

[Press release]

Bangkok, Thailand — At least 17,400 women and girls in Asia were killed by an intimate partner or family member in 2024, according to new regional findings released today by UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). While this figure is slightly lower than last year’s estimate, experts warn that the decrease is not significant and may reflect persistent gaps in national reporting and data collection systems rather than a real decline. The data confirm that many women and girls continue to face the highest risk of lethal violence in their own homes – a major contrast to the killing of men, who are more likely to be killed outside the home.

These findings are part of the report Femicides in 2024: Global Estimates of Intimate Partner/Family Member Femicides, launched globally on 25 November to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. The report brings together the latest global and regional estimates on gender-related killings and highlights the urgent need to strengthen prevention efforts and improve data systems worldwide.

“Every year, UNODC and UN Women launch the Femicide Report to foster prevention campaigns and strengthen the criminal justice response. Every year, the statistics are alarming. But together, we can turn them around. Let us build justice systems that protect and empower,” said Delphine Schantz, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Christine Arab, Regional Director of UN Women Asia and the Pacific, added: “Ending femicide means challenging the gender inequalities and harmful social norms that allow violence to persist. It means listening to survivors, investing in prevention, understanding risks, treating high-risk cases accordingly, ensuring perpetrators are held accountable.”

While global estimates show that nearly 50,000 women and girls were killed in 2024, the report warns that the true scale of femicide is likely higher. Many countries still lack the capacity to collect data on gender-related motives or to identify whether victims were killed by partners, relatives or others. Data systems and investigations that classify femicides are still incomplete in many countries. These gaps limit understanding of the patterns and drivers behind femicide and make prevention more difficult.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, several countries are working to close these gaps by strengthening their national data systems. Mongolia and Fiji have taken notable steps by applying the UNODC and UN Women Statistical Framework for Measuring the Gender-related Killing of Women and Girls.

At the Global Meeting on Measuring Femicide, held in Vienna in July 2025, countries that had completed pilot studies on the statistical framework, as well as those interested in joining future pilots, took part in a cross-country exchange. The Republic of Korea presented the findings of its feasibility study, which examined how the framework could be applied in its national context.

Mongolia and Fiji have gone further by completing the pilot study on the statistical framework. Their experience shows how countries can better identify gender-related motives, improve the quality of disaggregated data, and ensure that femicide statistics can guide national prevention and response strategies. Both countries shared their lessons learned at the global meeting.

Countries that have implemented the pilot study reported common challenges and areas of progress, while others expressed interest in joining future phases of the initiative. Discussions highlighted the critical importance of coordinated data systems, clear and harmonized definitions, and joint multisectoral approaches.

This year’s Global Femicide Report underscores that preventing gender-related killings requires strong data, targeted policies, and long-term investment in services and prevention. The work under way across Asia and the Pacific shows that progress is possible when institutions coordinate, evidence is strengthened, and the experience and voices of women and girls shape approaches to this issue from all angles.

Read the full report here.