A/HRC/20/16 B. Global trends and manifestations 29. Globally, the prevalence of different manifestations of gender-related killings is reaching alarming proportions. Culturally and socially embedded, these manifestations continue to be accepted, tolerated or justified—with impunity as the norm. States‘ responsibility to act with due diligence in the promotion and protection of women‘s rights, is largely lacking as regards the killing of women. 1. Killings of women as a result of intimate-partner violence 30. Intimate-partner violence is a problem affecting millions of women all over the world, and the overwhelming burden of partner violence is borne by women. 24 Research on homicide resulting from intimate-partner violence reflects, almost without exception, that females are at greater risk than males, and that the majority of female homicide victims are killed by male intimate partners.25 The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime studies also confirm that in many countries, intimate partner/family-related homicide is the major cause of female homicides, and that female homicide rates are much more likely to be driven by this type of violence than by the organized crime-related homicide typology that so affects men.26 31. As with all forms of intimate-partner violence, intimate-partner femicide is likely to be significantly underreported. Studies have shown that in some countries between 40 and 70 per cent of female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner.27 In many countries the home is the place where a woman is most likely to be murdered, whereas men are more likely to be murdered in the street.28 32. One study indicates that there are approximately 3,500 intimate partner violencerelated deaths every year in Europe.29 Women account for more than 77 per cent of all victims of intimate partner/family-related homicide,30 with women between the ages of 35 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 8 Heise, L. and C. Garcia-Moreno, (2002) ―Violence by intimate partners‖. In E. G. Krug, L. L. Dahlberg, J. A. Mercy, A. B. Zwi, and Lozano, R. (eds.). World report on violence and health, pp. 89121. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. See Browne, A., Williams, K., and D. Dutton, (1999) ―Homicide between intimate partners‖. In M. D. Smith & M. Zahn (eds.). Studying and preventing homicide, pp. 55-78. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE., Campbell, J., (1992) ―If I can’t have you, no one can: Power and control in homicide of female partners‖. In Radford, J. and Russell, D. (eds.). Femicide: The politics of woman-killing, pp. 99-113. New York, NY: Twayne. Dawson, M., and R. Gartner, (1998) ―Differences in the characteristics of intimate femicides: The role of relationship state and status‖. Homicide Studies, 2, 378-399, and Gauthier, D. and W. Bankston, (2004) ―Who kills whom revisited: A sociological study of variation in the sex ratio of spouse killings‖. Homicide Studies, 8(2), 96-122, Heise, L. and C. Garcia-Moreno, ―Violence by intimate partners‖. In: Krug E, Dahlberg, L., Mercy, J., Zwi, A. and R. Lozano, (eds.) (2002) World Report on Violence and Health [First Edition]. Geneva, CH: World Health Organization; 2002:87–122. Adinkrah, M. (1999) ―Uxoricide in Fiji: the sociocultural context of husband-wife killings‖. Violence Against Women. 1999; 5(11):1294–1321. Kellermann, A. and J. Mercy, (1992) ―Men, women, and murder: gender-specific difference in rates of fatal violence and victimization‖. The Journal of Trauma. 1992; 33:1–5. And Mercy, J. and L. Saltzman, (1976-85) ―Fatal violence among spouses in the United States‖, American Journal of Public Health. 1989; 79(5):595–599. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ―2011 Global Study on Homicide‖, Vienna. Supra note 24. Supra Note 26. Project DAPHNE (2007) ―Estimation of mortality linked to intimate partner violence in Europe - IPV EU_Mortality‖, Psytel, June 2010. Available at http://psytel.eu/violences.php . Supra note 26.