38% of women killed are by partners: WHO

NEW DELHI: Over one-third of murdered women across the world were killed by their male partners, a recent report by World Health Organization ( WHO) has revealed, indicating how women face greater threat to their lives from their trusted ones.

"When women are killed, it is often their partner who is responsible. In 2013, WHO and others estimated that as many as 38% of female homicides globally were committed by male partners while the corresponding figure for men was 6%," said the first ever Global Status Report on Violence Prevention released on Thursday.

Highlighting how murder (homicide) is a bigger problem across countries, it said world over at least 4.75 lakh murders were reported in 2012. About 60% of these victims were males aged between 15 and 44 years, which is the most productive phase of life. The report says homicide is the third leading cause of death for males in this age group.

This status report has been prepared after collecting data from 133 countries, covering 6.1 billion people and representing 88% of the world's population.

The compilation of global data also shows that approximately one in every two homicides is committed with a firearm, and one in four with a sharp instrument such as a knife, although the mechanism of homicide varies markedly across regions.

However, it has also found how between 2000 and 2012 homicide rates are estimated to have declined by over 16% globally. It's higher in the case of high-income countries, but in low and middle income countries the decline is less.