Chile advances in measuring femicide with support from UNODC and UN Women

“Data interoperability is essential for building reliable information and strengthening coordination between institutions that deal with femicides,” said Carolina Leitao Álvarez-Salamanca, Chile's Undersecretary for Crime Prevention, during the technical mission led by the UNODC-INEGI Center of Excellence and UN Women.

From August 3 to 8, 2025, a technical mission from the UNODC-INEGI Center of Excellence visited Santiago, Chile, to assist the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in implementing the comprehensive statistical framework for measuring gender-based homicides of women and girls (femicide/feminicide). The initiative was supported by the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality, the Ministry of Security, and other national institutions.

The main objective was to strengthen the capacities of the INE and its partners to incorporate the Statistical Framework into their official security and justice information systems. This tool, developed by UNODC and UN Women, seeks to harmonize administrative records on femicides, improve data quality, and facilitate international comparability.

During the mission, the Center of Excellence team held meetings with key institutions such as the Forensic Medical Service, the Investigative Police (PDI), the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the Carabineros de Chile to review case registration and classification processes. A technical workshop on the International Classification of Crimes for Statistical Purposes (ICCS) was also held, with the participation of more than 25 representatives from the justice system, aimed at strengthening the use of standardized methodologies.

Experiences were also shared on data interoperability and inter-institutional coordination, especially with the Center for the Prevention of Homicides and Violent Crimes, which has developed a unified information system for measuring homicides.

The mission concluded with an agreement between INE, UNODC, and UN Women to continue collaborating on data validation, harmonization of records, and the generation of summary tables to monitor progress in measuring femicides.

With this joint effort, Chile is moving toward a more robust and coordinated statistical system capable of providing accurate information for the design of public policies that promote gender equality and justice for victims.