In 2002 at least 31 Palestinian women were murdered by family members—for the crime of being raped or molested.

Most of the victims were under the age of 18 and some had been sexually abused or raped by male relatives, according to statistics released by Palestinian police Thursday.

The latest murder was perpetrated earlier this week when a woman from a village near Ramallah strangled to death her 17-year-old daughter for staying away from home for a few days. The mother has been arrested, but her family is employing heavy pressure on the Palestinian Authority to release her “so she can attend to her other children.” …

Maisoun Wahidi, a senior official with the PA’s Ministry of Social Welfare, said “honor killings’ constitute a very serious threat to Palestinian society. “Most of the victims are adolescent girls who were sexually abused or raped by members of their families and later killed for bringing shame,” she explained. Wahidi said the ministry was working toward opening shelters for battered women and victims of sexual abuse.