The United Nations on Thursday, said that around 89,000 women and girls were killed in 2022 across the globe.

The UN said this is the highest annual figure recorded in the past two decades.

“The alarming number of femicides is a stark reminder that humanity is still grappling with deep-rooted inequalities and violence against women and girls,’’ said Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC, in a statement.

“Each life lost is a call to action, a plea to urgently address structural inequalities, to improve criminal justice responses, so that no woman or girl fears for her life because of her gender.’’

Waly said that more than half of these murders, around 55 percent, were committed by family members or partners, compared to about 12 percent of male victims of homicide.

He said the highest number of murders of women and girls, around 20,000, took place in Africa, followed by Asia.