Women are the most unsafe in their own homes, UN reports say

The number of battered women seeking help is up 10% this year in Albuquerque, according to the executive director of ABQ SANE — the largest domestic violence center in the state that specializes in providing medical treatment and forensic evaluation to victims of abuse.

And the severity of their abuse is also increasing.

“Some of our nurses have been here for 10 or 15 years,” Shannon Lowry, ABQ SANE’s executive director said, “and several of them have said that the cases they’ve seen in 2024 are the worst they’ve ever seen when it comes to the severity of the injuries.”

This is in line with a tragic trend. Last year, the number of cases of femicide — broadly defined as the gender-related killing of women and girls — spiked to 85,000 worldwide, a record high. More than half, 61%, of the femicides in 2023 were committed by a family member or intimate partner, or 51,100 — that’s 140 murders a day. That’s up from 48,800 in 2022, according to the report by UN Women entitled “Femicides in 2023: Global estimates of intimate partner/family member femicides.”

Statistics showed women in public-facing roles including politics, journalism and women’s rights activists were more likely to be victims of femicide. And reports showed the Americas (North and South) were at 1.6 cases per 100,000 in population, 8,300 in all.

The data may reveal a lot, but not the whole story. Since 2020, the number of countries reporting femicide-related data has dropped by 50%, which is a concern for analysts who estimate the numbers may be significantly higher. Also skewing the data are the varying definitions of femicide and gender-related killings from nation to nation.

On any given month, 200 to 310 battered women show up at the Albuquerque Domestic Violence Resource Center (DVRC).

“We’re really busy over here,” said Glen St. Onge, executive director at DVRC. “Hypothetically there are 10,000 calls of DV (domestic violence) a year, and that’s just what’s reported. A lot of what we see at DVRC is the unreported cases.”

In New Mexico, resource centers like Lowry’s are thought to be the key to providing women with options to escape their situations. ABQ SANE nurses also provide patient advocate support and domestic violence resources.

“Where I was living at the time didn’t have resources,” said Lowry, herself a victim of domestic abuse. “I hate that they have to travel hours to come and see us, because that is the last thing that they need to have to be doing after they’ve experienced something that’s so traumatic.”

Home is the most unsafe place for women around the globe, according to the UN report.

In October, Albuquerque resident Jonathan Martinez was convicted for murdering his ex-girlfriend Yasmine Marquez before burying her body in the Jemez Mountains. The case is just one of several in New Mexico where a woman fell victim to femicide. As of Nov. 26, Albuquerque Police Department said 13 of 88 (15%) homicide victims in the state were women, marking 2024 as the year for the lowest female homicide in recent data so far. Five years ago saw the highest number of female homicides at 21 out of 82, or 26% of the victims.

In Albuquerque, the Women’s Memorial Park serves as a sorrowful reminder of the victims of gender-based violence. In 2009, the remains of 11 women and an unborn child were found after a concerned citizen reported bones in the dirt while walking her dog. Despite widespread fears that a serial killer targeting women is on the loose, to this day the case remains unsolved. Every year, the city honors their memory on the International Day for Elimination of Violence Toward Women, Nov. 25 this year.

New Mexico also has a task force dedicated to missing and murdered Indigenous people. Homicide is the third leading cause of death among Indigenous people and New Mexico is in the top 10 states for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, according to the Urban Indian Health Institute. The National Crime Justice Training Center released data that showed in 2023, 55% of Native American women have been physically abused by an intimate partner.

As a survivor herself, Lowry knows the tribulations victims can go through when seeking help.

“People will often say, ‘Well, I didn’t have it as bad as this person, or I didn’t have it as bad as that person,’” she said. “But everybody who experiences domestic violence has still experienced life-changing trauma, and they deserve to feel their feelings and be cared for and be supported by their family and friends.”

U.S. legislation surrounding femicide is comparatively weaker when looking at, for example, Costa Rica — the first country to make femicide a legally defined crime. However, in 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act. It strengthened and extended legislation passed in 1994 that was the first in the United States designed to address violence against women. Since enacted, the act has improved services for victims of sexual and domestic abuse, classifying stalking as a crime nationwide, strengthening federal punishment for repeat rape offenders and more.

“I know as a service provider what it takes is education,” Lowry said.” It takes talking: talking about what is, what is not right and how people should be treated.”