How do intimate partner homicides compare to other leading causes of death for women globally?
Executive summary
Intimate partner and family-member killings account for a striking share of female homicides: UNODC/UN Women estimate about 85,000 women were killed intentionally in 2023, and roughly 60% — about 51,100 — were killed by an intimate partner or family member, an average of roughly 137–140 victims per day [1] [2] [3]. Historical academic reviews show that more than one-third of female homicides are perpetrated by intimate partners, far higher than the comparable share for male victims [4] [5].
1. Intimate-partner femicide is a dominant form of women’s homicide
UNODC and UN Women’s recent joint estimates place intimate partner and family-member femicides at the center of lethal violence against women: in 2023 an estimated 85,000 women were killed intentionally and 60% of those deaths — about 51,100 — were by intimate partners or family members [1] [2]. Those figures mean one woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member almost every 10 minutes [2].
2. Regional patterns show big disparities
The risk and drivers vary sharply by region: the highest rate of intimate-partner/family-member femicide is estimated in Africa (about 3 per 100,000 women), followed by the Americas (1.5), Oceania (1.4), Asia (0.7) and Europe (0.5) [2]. Absolute numbers differ too — UN reporting highlights that Africa recorded the largest number of such deaths in 2024 [6] [1].
3. Women’s killing in the private sphere contrasts with male homicide patterns
Global homicide patterns are gendered: while about 80% of homicide victims are men, women’s homicides are disproportionately committed in the private sphere. UN sources report that intimate partners or family members committed about 60% of female homicides versus roughly 11–12% of male homicides [2] [7]. Academic reviews reach a similar conclusion: intimate partners account for a much larger share of female homicides than male ones [5] [4].
4. Longstanding research aligns with newer UN findings
A systematic review in The Lancet and related work found that at least one in seven homicides worldwide and more than a third of female homicides were perpetrated by intimate partners — a pattern the UNODC/UN Women reports reinforce with newer, higher-resolution estimates [4] [5]. The concordance between academic and UN analyses strengthens the case that intimate-partner femicide is both common and under-addressed [5] [1].
5. Measurement limits and data gaps weaken precision
UN reports and secondary sources warn data are incomplete: country reporting on femicide is uneven and the availability of relationship-disaggregated homicide data has declined in recent years, which complicates trend assessment and regional comparisons [3] [8]. UNODC/UN Women use modeling where country-level data are missing; the reports explicitly note limitations and call for better data collection [8] [9].
6. What this means for public health and prevention
The concentration of lethal violence against women in the domestic sphere implies prevention can be targeted: research and policy prescriptions include strengthening legislation, risk assessment in healthcare and policing, funding for survivors’ services, and broader measures to change gendered power dynamics [4] [1]. UN agencies argue femicides are preventable and urge urgent action on legal, funding and data fronts [1] [9].
7. Competing framings and potential agendas in reporting
UN reports foreground prevention and accountability, emphasizing state obligations and policy responses [1] [9]. Media summaries and some secondary aggregators amplify the daily-count framing (“137 a day” or “one every 10 minutes”) to mobilize attention; that framing is rooted in UN estimates but depends on modeling choices and available reporting [2] [3]. Independent academics emphasize methodological caution but arrive at similar qualitative conclusions [5] [4].
8. Bottom line for comparisons with other leading causes of women’s death
Available sources do not provide a direct, apples‑to‑apples ranking of intimate-partner femicide against all other leading causes of death for women (for example, maternal mortality, stroke, cancer) in a single comparable dataset; UN and WHO materials focus on the scale and share of homicides attributable to intimate partners and note the broader health impacts of intimate partner violence [1] [10]. What is clear from the available reporting is that a very large fraction of women’s homicides occur in the home and are perpetrated by partners or relatives, making intimate-partner femicide a distinct and urgent public-health and human-rights priority [1] [4].
Limitations: this analysis relies solely on the UNODC/UN Women reports and the cited systematic reviews; gaps remain where sources do not present direct cross-cause mortality comparisons or harmonized age-standardized rates across all causes [9] [5].