The United Nations on Thursday said that around 89, 000 women and girls were killed in 2022 across the globe.

According to the UN report, this is the highest annual figure recorded in the past two decades.

“The alarming number of femicides is a stark reminder that humanity is still grappling with deep-rooted inequalities and violence against women and girls.”

“Each life lost is a call to action, a plea to urgently address structural inequalities, to improve criminal justice responses, so that no woman or girl fears for her life because of her gender,” said Executive Director of UNODC, Ghada Waly, in a statement.

Waly said that more than half of these murders, around 55 per cent, were committed by family members or partners, compared to about 12 per cent of male victims of homicide.

According to Waly, the highest number of murders of women and girls, around 20,000, took place in Africa, followed by Asia.