ISTANBUL

UN human rights chief Volker Turk urged governments on Friday to strengthen accountability for crimes against women, warning that entrenched power structures continue to protect abusers, a concern he underscored by referencing the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk encouraged states to fully investigate allegations of abuse, safeguard victims and ensure independent and impartial justice systems, while cautioning that attacks against women, particularly online, are increasing.

He linked the concerns to US congressional hearings examining the network surrounding the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying prominent cases reveal wider systemic failures rather than isolated wrongdoing.

“Does anyone think there are not many more men like Dominique Pellicot or Jeffrey Epstein?” Turk asked delegates, citing Gisele Pellicot, a French woman who was drugged by her husband and raped by dozens of men during a nine-year period.

Turk said violence persists because “such horrific abuse is enabled by social systems that silence women and girls and insulate powerful men from accountability.”

Highlighting the scale of the crisis, he pointed to UN data showing that 50,000 women and girls were killed worldwide in 2024, most by family members, describing violence against women, including femicide, as a global emergency.

The high commissioner warned about growing hostility toward women leaders, telling the council that “every woman politician I meet tells me they face constant misogyny and online hate.”