Roughly 50,000 women and girls were killed worldwide in 2024, most by family members, figures that underscore violence against women as a global emergency demanding urgent action, the UN’s human rights chief said Friday.

Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that the scale of femicide reflects social systems that silence women and allow powerful men to abuse them without consequence. He cited the cases of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and French rape survivor Gisele Pelicot as evidence of exploitation that extends far beyond individual perpetrators.

“Does anyone think there are not many more men like Dominique Pelicot or Jeffrey Epstein?” Turk asked the council.

Epstein, a financier who moved among the world’s wealthy and powerful despite a 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution, died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Authorities ruled his death a suicide.

Pelicot waived her right to anonymity during the 2024 trial in France of her ex-husband Dominique and dozens of strangers he recruited to rape her while she was drugged unconscious.

Her decision to allow public proceedings gave the world insight into abuse that had continued for years.

Both cases, Turk said, reveal the extent of exploitation and abuse facing women and girls. He said states must investigate all alleged crimes, protect survivors and ensure justice without fear or favor.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights described Afghanistan’s treatment of women as particularly severe, saying the segregation system imposed by Taliban authorities resembles apartheid based on gender rather than race. He was addressing the council as part of broader remarks on threats to women’s rights worldwide.

Richard Bennett, the UN’s special rapporteur on the rights situation in Afghanistan, said the Taliban’s new criminal procedure code appears to endorse violence against women. Rules in the code set thresholds below which husbands and family members face no penalties for violence, he told journalists in Geneva.

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“Unless the violence reaches a particular threshold — described as broken bones or serious bruising — there are no penalties for husbands or family members carrying out that violence,” Bennett said. “Really shocking in the 21st century.”

Turk also raised concerns about mounting attacks on women in public life, including harassment online.

“Every woman politician I meet tells me they face constant misogyny and online hate,” he said.

The remarks came during a session of the Human Rights Council, the UN’s top rights body, which meets regularly in Geneva to address violations and abuses globally.

The council has previously issued resolutions condemning violence against women but enforcement mechanisms remain limited.

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Turk’s comments reflect growing alarm among international human rights monitors about regression on women’s rights in multiple countries. Taliban restrictions in Afghanistan have barred women from universities, most jobs and public spaces.

Women cannot travel long distances without a male guardian and must cover themselves fully in public.

UN officials have documented cases of women detained for dress code violations or attempting to flee the country. Some have been held incommunicado without access to legal representation or family.

Beyond Afghanistan, femicide rates have risen in parts of Latin America, where organized crime and domestic violence converge. In Mexico, more than 3,000 women were killed in gender-related violence in 2024, according to official data. Similar patterns have emerged in Brazil, Colombia and Central American countries.

European nations have also grappled with violence against women. France recorded more than 100 femicides in 2024, while Spain and Italy reported increases in domestic violence cases. The Pelicot trial drew attention to failures in legal and social systems that allowed sustained abuse to continue undetected.

The Epstein case exposed networks of exploitation involving prominent figures in business, politics and entertainment. Investigations have continued in multiple jurisdictions, though prosecutions have been limited. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a prison sentence for sex trafficking.

Turk’s call for action follows years of advocacy by women’s rights organizations pressing governments to strengthen protections and hold perpetrators accountable.

Many have criticized gaps between international commitments and enforcement, pointing to inadequate resources for survivors and weak penalties for abusers.