A femicide every 27 hours: up more than 30% in 2023

Over the course of 2023, a total of 322 femicides were reported, including 30 cases with specific connections and reflecting an increase of 80 compared to 2022, according to the official report provided by the Ombudsman’s Office. This represents a remarkable 33% increase compared to the previous period. According to the meticulous records of the Femicide Observatory of the Ombudsman’s Office, between January 1 and December 31 of last year, 6 transfemicides and 28 violent deaths of women were recorded in contexts linked to drug trafficking and organized crime. The report highlights that “a femicide was perpetrated every 27 hours”, stressing that “the increase in the numbers of murders of women for gender reasons is alarming, even surpassing the statistics of 2020, marked by the pandemic”, with 295 femicides registered. According to the Ombudsman’s Office, nearly 60 per cent of the victims were killed in their residence, place of employment or shared housing with the perpetrator; 74% had a pre-existing relationship with the aggressor. The most affected age group was 31 to 50 years old, with 125 cases. In terms of collateral damage, 191 children lost their mothers to femicide, some of whom were direct witnesses. It was also revealed that 19% of victims had filed at least one complaint of gender-based violence before the femicide. In fact, the most common form of assault was the use of firearms and 22 women were raped before being killed. Meanwhile, in relation to the perpetrators, 55 of them took their own lives, 17 attempted suicide and the same number belonged or had belonged to security forces. Regarding the geographical distribution of femicides, the provinces with the most cases were Buenos Aires (133), Santa Fe (40), Chaco (22), Córdoba (22), Salta (16) and Tucumán (16), but, when adjusting the rates according to the female population, the list was led by Córdoba, Corrientes, Santa Fe, Salta and Neuquén. In addition, the months with the most cases were August (32), December (31), May (31) and April (30).

Original source in Spanish