Violence against women has become a “global emergency,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Friday, deploring abuses notably in cases like those involving Gisèle Pelicot in France or American founder Jeffrey Epstein.
“Violence against women, especially femicides, constitutes a global emergency. Around 50,000 women and girls were killed in the world in 2024, mostly by family members,” said Volker Türk in his speech on the human rights situation in the world before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The UN human rights chief specifically mentioned Afghanistan, stating that in this country “the system of segregation imposed on women resembles apartheid, based on gender rather than race.”
He also referred to two cases that recently caused international shockwaves: those of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Frenchwoman Gisèle Pelicot, a victim of organized rapes by her ex-husband Dominique with dozens of men.
These two cases “illustrate the extent of exploitation and abuse committed against women and girls,” Mr. Türk declared, before asking: “Do we really believe that there are not many other men like Dominique Pelicot or Jeffrey Epstein?”
“Such horrific abuses are made possible by social systems that silence women and girls and protect powerful men from any responsibility,” Mr. Türk denounced further.
“States must investigate all presumed crimes, protect victims, and ensure impartial justice,” he stressed, also expressing concern about the increasing attacks against public women, especially online.
“Every female politician I meet tells me they are constantly victims of misogyny and online hatred,” he affirmed.
