Every year, an estimated 50,000 women and girls globally are victims of femicides committed by intimate partners and/or family members (see Femicides in 2024 – Global estimates of intimate partner/family member femicides). Beyond the home, others lose their lives at the hand of other perpetrators, though the exact figure remains unknown. To improve the measurement of femicides, the United Nations Statistical Commission at its 53rd session endorsed the statistical framework for measuring the gender-related killing of women and girls developed by UNODC and UN Women with contributions from experts from countries and other international organizations.
The statistical framework itself includes a statistical definition and typology of gender-related killings and the list of variables that can be used to identify and count these killings. The proposed definition and typology are aligned to the structure and framework of the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS),which can therefore be applied independently from the specific national legislation on such crimes. The framework also identifies main data that should be collected for providing information on victims, perpetrators and state response to gender-related killings of women and girls (femicide/feminicide).
Download the Statistical Framework in: English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
The National Institute of Statistics (INE) of Chile, supported by the UNODC-INEGI Center of Excellence in Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice and UN Women, held an inter-institutional workshop in June 2025 to assess the pilot testing of the Statistical Framework. The assessment identified innovative practices, including the use of interoperable systems and structured coordination mechanisms, while also revealing opportunities to strengthen the systematic capture of contextual and gender-related variables required by the Framework.
In November 2025, a validation workshop was held to reviews the results of the pilot implementation of the Statistical Framework and to define a national roadmap for its implementation in 2026.
(Inter-institutional Workshop, Validation Workshop)
The Dominican Republic, with the support of the UNODC–INEGI Center of Excellence, conducted the pilot implementation of the Statistical Framework as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen its national crime statistics system, including the publication of the national adaptation of the International Classification of Crimes for Statistical Purposes (ICCS ARD) in 2023.
An interinstitutional technical mission held in May 2025 included the socialization and operational discussion of the Statistical Framework aimed at strengthening interinstitutional coordination mechanisms, updating information previously collected through questionnaires, and jointly designing a harmonized data flow for intentional homicides of women incorporating the disaggregation variables proposed by the framework.
(Kick-off Meeting, Technical Mission)
Ecuador piloted the implementation of the Statistical Framework with the support of the UNODC–INEGI Center of Excellence, building on its existing institutional and legal advances in the measurement of femicide. The pilot included the mapping of key institutions involved in the production of femicide-related statistics, including law enforcement agencies, the forensic system, the prosecution service, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), and institutions responsible for gender equality and victim support.
The pilot highlighted strong institutional coordination and a consolidated national statistical register on femicides, while identifying challenges related to documentation of statistical processes and systematic incorporation of contextual variables. A roadmap for 2026 was agreed, prioritizing documentation of standardized processes, strengthening interoperability, and targeted capacity-building activities.
The Fiji Bureau of Statistics (FBoS), supported by the UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence for Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice and the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality, conducted a pilot implementation of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls in Fiji.
Fiji became the first country in the Pacific region to implement the Statistical Framework. This work was complemented by national workshops jointly delivered by UNODC–KOSTAT Centre of Excellence and the UN Women Centre of Excellence to support the operationalization of the framework and its alignment with the ICCS.
(Pilot Meeting; Second Fiji meeting and ICCS workshop)
The Coordination Council for Crime Prevention of Mongolia (CCCP), supported by the UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence and the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality, conducted a pilot implementation of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls in Mongolia.
As Mongolia moves forward with the pilot study, there is optimism that this initiative can serve as a model for other countries seeking to strengthen their response to gender-based violence through data-driven policymaking.
The Global Meeting on Measuring Femicide and Other Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls took place from 15 to 17 July 2025 in Vienna, jointly organized by UNODC and UN Women. The meeting gathered national stakeholders from countries already implementing, or preparing to implement, the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls. The objective was to facilitate knowledge exchange, strengthen national capacities, and support effective and harmonized application of the framework.
Between May and June 2023, three webinars on measuring gender-based violence were heldto enhance knowledge and capacity on the use of population surveys and administrative data for monitoring gender-based violence. The webinars fostered information exchange and included expert presentations, discussions on best practices and sharing of experiences among countries producing statistics and indicators on gender-based violence.
Key Thematic Sessions
Webinar Coverage & Participation
1078 participants from 130 countries took part, representing agencies who produce or use gender-based violence data in their respective countries.
The UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence, in collaboration with the Pacific Community (SPC) and the UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ROSEAP), organized a Pacific Regional Training on the ICCS and the Crime Victimization Survey (CVS) for Pacific Member States.
As part of this training, an extended session on the femicide framework was jointly delivered with colleagues from the Human Rights and Gender Team in ROSEAP, promoting integrated application of the framework within broader crime and victimization statistics systems.
Pacific Regional Training on ICCS and CVS
The eLearning Course on Crime Statistics from a Gender Perspective, developed by the UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence for Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice in Asia and Pacific, in partnership with the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality and the United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), includes a module to explore gender concepts and frameworks on SDG indicators relevant to crime and criminal justice statistics including gender-based SDG targets and the statistical framework for measuring the gender-related killings of women and girls.
Access the eLearning course here
