A recent global femicide report attributes 60 per cent of all female homicides cases to intimate partners or other family members. The UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveal that violence against women remains widespread almost three decades after the Beijing Conference on women and its call for affirmative action. About 80,000 women and girls were killed deliberately in 2024, including in Nigeria. The report says 51,000 homicide cases were committed by intimate partners or other family members.
It is worrisome that 150 women and girls die every day at the hands of their partner or a close relative. This means that one woman is killed every 10 minutes. Africa recorded the highest rates of intimate partner and family-related femicide in 2024, followed by the Americas and Oceania. In Europe and the Americas, most women killed in the domestic sphere (64 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively) were victims of intimate partners, while, in other parts of the world, family members were the primary perpetrators.
The UN believes that violence against women is preventable. We agree no less. The UN has called for robust legislation, improved data collection, greater government accountability, a zero-tolerance culture, and increased funding for women’s rights organisations and institutional bodies as part of the panacea for the global menace. UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous, said: “As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025, it is time for world leaders to unite and act with urgency, recommit, and channel the resources needed to end this crisis once and for all.”
Nigeria has a disturbing trend of violence against women, which must be addressed headlong. DOHS Cares Foundation, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to eradicating gender-based violence, reported recently that over 133 Nigerian women and girls, including teenagers, were killed in incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) in 2024. This ugly development calls for a vigorous effort by Nigerian authorities and members of the public to concertedly address GBV.
The reported femicide cases in Nigeria do not tell the full story of the menace in the country. There are unreported cases in the country caused by fear of stigmatisation, which have not been factored into the femicide statistics. Women of all ages in the country have been exposed to gender violence in Nigeria at one time or the other. Some cases were domestic and poverty-driven, while others were ritual-related, aggression and mysterious instances.
We believe that having a strong justice system can hold perpetrators accountable and provide adequate support for victims and survivors of gender violence in Nigeria. We must get rid of biases and norms that perpetuate violence against women and begin to see them as an integral part of society with a responsibility to contribute to Nigeria’s sustainable development goals. Parents and religious leaders have a role to play in reorienting youths whose quests for material wealth has led to the ignoble murder of their loved ones for misleading money-making rituals.
The hard economic challenges in the country should not be a justification for the killing of partners. We must learn to think outside the box to make ends meet. Young people should be mentored that hard work pays in the long run.
To curb violence against women, perpetrators must be diligently prosecuted. Let all cases of violence against women be reported to the police so that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
Nigerian security agencies should be more proactive in their response to suspected cases of femicide. More media campaigns by the government and non-governmental organisations will reduce gender-related violence in the country. Women rights should be respected by all and sundry, and gender equality should be promoted. The quest for an egalitarian society begins when all genders are accorded equal opportunities and rights.
Silence in the face of violence against women will further embolden its perpetrators. A multi-sectoral approach is needed to reverse the rising spate of femicide in Nigeria. We must confront and dismantle gender biases, power imbalances, harmful norms and stereotypes that perpetuate violence against women. The five-year deadline to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has presented a window to rally all stakeholders in Nigeria to take decisive and urgent action against gender violence. Let’s work together to end violence against women and girls.