Femicide is on the rise in Canada and is far higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, with a woman murdered every two days, according to a new report that decries the lack of broad-based public policy.

According to the Canadian Observatory on Femicide for Justice and Accountability, 184 women were murdered last year, a 20% increase over 2019.

“This means that at least one woman or girl is killed every two days,” the Observatory notes in its report, which clarifies that “men make up the vast majority of those accused.”

Almost 60% of the victims are murdered by their partner or an ex-partner, the Observatory also notes.

“A woman’s death should be significant in itself,” said Myrna Dawson, Observatory founder and professor of sociology at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

“However, the impact these deaths have on the people left behind must also be acknowledged. It is reflected for decades in the lives of those trying to survive, especially children,” he added in a statement.

The report also highlights the very high number of Aboriginal women who account for 36% of femicide victims but only 5% of the Canadian population.

“You have to listen to women when they express their fear. You have to take them seriously,” said Myrna Dawson, recalling the case of a black woman who was murdered in 2022 in Toronto despite complaints being filed.

Human rights advocates are also calling for the country to recognize femicide in the criminal code, as is the case in some countries.

“Canada lags behind other countries in how it addresses men’s violence against women and girls,” laments Myrna Dawson.

In late March, a commission investigating a murder in eastern Canada in 2020 called on the government to recognize that “gender-based, intimate partner or domestic violence” is an “epidemic” and therefore a primary and widespread problem.