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Report: 437,000 people murdered worldwide in 2012; mostly with guns

9-mm-gun-01NIT – Almost half a million people across the world lost their lives in 2012 as a result of intentional homicide, with the highest murder rates logged in the Americas and Africa, according to a new report.

A Global Study on Homicide was conducted by the United Nations, focused on a need to understand how violent crime is plaguing countries around the world, particularly affecting young men but also taking a heavy toll on women.

Globally, men represent some 80 per cent of homicide victims and 95 per cent of perpetrators. While almost 15 per cent of all homicides stem from domestic violence (63,600), more than two thirds of domestic violence fatalities are women (43,600, almost 70 per cent).

“Home can be the most dangerous place for a woman,” said an official, adding that “it is particularly heart-breaking when those who should be protecting their loved ones are the very people responsible for their murder.”

Over half of all homicide victims are under 30 years of age, with children under the age of 15 accounting for just over 8 per cent of all homicides (36,000), the study highlights.

The report spotlights that almost 750 million people live in countries with the highest homicide rates – mostly in the Americas and Africa – meaning that almost half of all murders occurs in countries that are home to just 11 per cent of the earth’s population.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, 3 billion people – mainly in Europe, Asia and Oceania – live in countries where homicide rates are relatively low.

Globally, the male homicide rate is almost four times higher than for females (9.7 versus 2.7 per 100,000), especially in the Americas (29.3 per 100,000 males), where it is almost seven times higher than in Asia, Europe and Oceania (all under 4.5 per 100,000 males).

While men are mostly killed by someone they may not know, almost half of all female victims are killed by those closest to them such as their intimate partners/family members, in domestic violence situations. This is particularly true in Asia, Europe and Oceania.

The study also spotlights that the consumption of alcohol and/or illicit drugs increases the risk of perpetrating homicide, revealing that, in some countries, over half of homicide offenders acted under the influence of alcohol. Although the effects of illicit drugs are less well documented, cocaine and amphetamine-type stimulants have also been associated with violent behaviour and homicide.

Firearms are the most widely used murder weapons, causing 4 in 10 homicides globally, whereas about a quarter of victims are killed with blades and sharp objects and just over a third die through other means (such as strangulation, poisoning etc.).

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