Two Argentine observatories each counted 200 deaths from gender violence in the first nine months of 2026, most of them femicides. That means roughly one woman, girl or trans person was killed every 33 hours. Neither tally is official. Both draw on press reports, use slightly different methods and cutoff dates, and can't yet be checked against court files.
Ahora Que Sí Nos Ven published its count through 29 September; El Destape reported it on Saturday, 3 October. MuMaLá reached the same total by 30 September, La Lupa reported. The Office for Women at the Supreme Court produces the official figure from court files, but publishes each year's total months after that year ends. The 2026 registry is due in 2027.
What the Counts Show
Of the 200 deaths counted by Ahora Que Sí Nos Ven, 167 were direct femicides. Twenty were linked femicides: people killed to punish a woman or while trying to protect her, often relatives. Seven cases involved instigation to suicide, and six involved killings of trans women or travestis. The group also logged 306 attempted femicides and at least 202 children and adolescents who lost their mothers.
The circumstances point to the home. In 64% of cases, the alleged killer was a partner or former partner. About 41% of attacks took place in the victim's own home, while 23.5% happened in a home she shared with the alleged killer.
Then there's the victims' contact with the system. Fourteen percent had previously reported their attacker. MuMaLá, which also counted 200 killings through 30 September, put the share at 12%; three in four of those victims had a protection order. The group recorded 654 attempted killings and 157 children left without their mothers. It also found that 6% of alleged killers belonged to the security forces. The groups define attempts differently, which accounts for the gap between their totals.
The Official Record
The court's figures cover a different period and use a different method. The Supreme Court registry recorded 200 direct femicide victims in 2025, 12.3% fewer than the 228 recorded in 2024, plus 19 linked victims, the court said on 29 May 2026. The 2025 rate was 0.85 victims per 100,000 women, or about one every 44 hours. Chequeado, a fact-checking site, said the court hadn't changed its method.
Court files and press monitoring capture cases differently, so the official and civil-society figures aren't directly comparable. For the same nine months of 2025, Ahora Que Sí Nos Ven had recorded 287 attempted femicides and 149 orphaned children.
The Budget Argument
Ahora Que Sí Nos Ven linked the deaths to cuts in prevention policy under President Javier Milei, who abolished the women's ministry after taking office in December 2023. The observatory noted that the 2027 budget bill didn't mention Línea 144 or the Acompañar programme. Línea 144, created in 2013, is the national helpline for victims of gender violence. Acompañar, launched in 2020, pays survivors the equivalent of the minimum wage for six months. Both rely on national funding.
"The resurgence of gender violence comes as Milei deepens the dismantling of the public policies meant to prevent it," the observatory said. MuMaLá described a "state of emergency" and connected it to economic hardship. Congress hasn't yet voted on the 2027 budget bill.
The Courts Weigh In
The Supreme Court is also considering an appeal over the 2016 killing of Julieta González in Mendoza province. Andrés Di Césare received a life sentence for aggravated homicide in a context of gender violence. His defence says the femicide clause should apply only to partners or former partners. Women's groups have filed briefs urging the court not to narrow it, Chaco Ahora reported. The observatory warned that a narrow reading could bring lighter sentences for killings by acquaintances or strangers. The ruling is pending.
Under Argentine law, femicide means the killing of a woman by a man in a context of gender violence. Since 2012, the penal code has punished it with life imprisonment.
Why This Matters:
The headline figure of 200 is unofficial and drawn from press reports, while the only comparable official series showed a 12.3% drop in direct femicide victims in 2025. Policymakers will have to weigh budget arguments against data that won't be verified until 2027. The sharper detail may be institutional: some victims had already reported their attackers, and in MuMaLá's count three in four of those victims had protection orders. Life sentences are already on the books, so a government cutting spending must answer whether existing tools—including courts, police and funded services like Línea 144—are being enforced. The pending Supreme Court ruling on the femicide clause will also show how far the law reaches.