An average of 140 women and girls were killed by a partner or relative per day in 2023, the UN says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The deadliest place for women is at home and 140 women and girls on average were killed by an intimate partner or family member per day last year, two U.N. agencies reported Monday.

Globally, an intimate partner or family member was responsible for the deaths of approximately 51,100 women and girls during 2023, an increase from an estimated 48,800 victims in 2022, UN Women and the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime said.

The report released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women said the increase was largely the result of more data being available from countries and not more killings.

But the two agencies stressed that “Women and girls everywhere continue to be affected by this extreme form of gender-based violence and no region is excluded.” And they said, “the home is the most dangerous place for women and girls.”

The highest number of intimate partner and family killings was in Africa – with an estimated 21,700 victims in 2023, the report said. Africa also had the highest number of victims relative to the size of its population — 2.9 victims per 100,000 people.

There were also high rates last year in the Americas with 1.6 female victims per 100,000 and in Oceania with 1.5 per 100,000, it said. Rates were significantly lower in Asia at 0.8 victims per 100,000 and Europe at 0.6 per 100,000.

According to the report, the intentional killing of women in the private sphere in Europe and the Americas is largely by intimate partners.

By contrast, the vast majority of male homicides take place outside homes and families, it said.

“Even though men and boys account for the vast majority of homicide victims, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by lethal violence in the private sphere," the report said.

“An estimated 80% of all homicide victims in 2023 were men while 20% were women, but lethal violence within the family takes a much higher toll on women than men, with almost 60% of all women who were intentionally killed in 2023 being victims of intimate partner/family member homicide,” it said.

The report said that despite efforts to prevent the killing of women and girls by countries, their killings “remain at alarmingly high levels.”

“They are often the culmination of repeated episodes of gender-based violence, which means they are preventable through timely and effective interventions,” the two agencies said.

Demonstrators take part in a rally ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women which will held on Nov. 25, in Rome, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Demonstrators take part in a rally ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women which will be held on Nov. 25, in Rome, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People take part in a rally ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in front of the Colosseum in Rome, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.. (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)

People take part in a march marking the upcoming International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Lima, Peru, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

People take part in a march marking the upcoming International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Lima, Peru, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

CGT union secretary general Sophie Binet, center, attends a march during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in Paris, France, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A woman holds a torch during a rally marking the upcoming International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Istanbul,Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Demonstrators take part in a rally ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women which will be held on Nov. 25, in Rome, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Ariana Campos takes part in a march marking the upcoming International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Lima, Peru, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares climbed in Asia on Monday, tracking last week’s gains on Wall Street, and analysts said investors were viewing President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of billionaire investor Scott Bessent as his nominee for Treasury secretary as a relatively market-friendly choice.

Bitcoin fell slightly and oil prices also declined, while U.S. futures advanced.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.4% to 38,815.31, while the Kospi in Seoul rose 1.4% to 2,535.03. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.6% to 8,444.40.

In China, shares fell further, with the Shanghai Composite index giving up 0.4% to 3,255.39 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong falling 0.5% to 19,131.82.

China’s central bank kept the interest rate on the one-year medium-term lending facility unchanged at 2%.

Shares in technology companies saw big declines, with online shopping platform Meituan falling 4.3% while multimedia and video games company Tencent dropped 1.3%.

Taiwan's Taiex added 0.4% and the Sensex in India was up 1.5%. In Bangkok, the SET gained 0.2%.

This week will bring an update on consumer sentiment from the business group The Conference Board on Tuesday and key inflation data with the release Wednesday of the personal consumption expenditures index for October. The PCE is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to a meeting of the Federal Reserve next month.

On Friday, stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the market posted its fifth straight gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record high, gaining 1% to close at 44,296.51.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, to 5,969.34 while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to 19,003.65. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%.

Markets have swung widely since the U.S. elections in November, and Trump's choices to head Treasury and other key positions that influence economic and financial policies were among the factors overhanging investor sentiment.

Bessent, 62, is a hedge fund manager considered to be closely aligned with Wall Street. He is the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.

The proposed choice was interpreted “as a sign that President-elect Trump might adopt a more measured approach to tariffs and fiscal policy. Bessent’s influence is expected to bring nuanced economic strategies to the forefront, potentially easing concerns over abrupt policy shifts,” Stephen Innex of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

But he said attention this week would likely focus more on the inflation data and what they might mean for interest rates, as the Fed holds its next policy meeting.

A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 gained ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies.

Nvidia fell 3.2%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology.

Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.7%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations.

Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.7% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.

In the crypto market, bitcoin hovered around $98,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday.

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A currency trader talks on the phone near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Currency traders work near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A currency trader talks on the phone near the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A currency trader walks near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)