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Comparison of Reported Deaths in SyriaTracker by Gender: Data from Mar 11, 2011 through Sept 4, 2012

  • Date: Sep 29 2012 Time: 01:57
  • Description:

    Comparison of Reported Deaths in SyriaTracker by Gender

    Data from Mar 11, 2011 through Sept 4, 2012

    Syria Tracker is a crowdsourcing effort that has collected reported deaths of civilian and army defectors in Syria with the help of SyrianMartyrs شهداء الثورة السورية and Women Under Siege.  The data collected by Syria Tracker not only covers the dates and locations of each death, but also gender.  In this report, we are presenting an initial analysis of deaths by gender.  While the predominate number of casualties have been male, there has been a good deal of variation in female death rates based on the nature of the unrest and the amount of attacking civilian areas.  Note that the data for September 2012 only reflect the first four days of the month.
    Month
    Male Deaths
    Female Deaths
    % Female Deaths
    Mar-11
    120
    1
    0.83%
    Apr-11
    712
    15
    2.06%
    May-11
    523
    39
    6.94%
    Jun-11
    520
    9
    1.70%
    Jul-11
    427
    16
    3.61%
    Aug-11
    635
    58
    8.37%
    Sep-11
    496
    25
    4.80%
    Oct-11
    539
    35
    6.10%
    Nov-11
    777
    33
    4.07%
    Dec-11
    1060
    59
    5.27%
    Jan-12
    1124
    65
    5.47%
    Feb-12
    2349
    241
    9.31%
     Mar-12
    2179
    189
    7.98%
    Apr-12
    1838
    152
    7.64%
    May-12
    1289
    154
    10.67%
    Jun-12
    2427
    266
    9.88%
    Jul-12
    3980
    402
    9.17%
    Aug-12
    5810
    634
    9.84%
    Sep-12
    721
    53
    6.85%
    Grand Total
    27526
    2446
    8.16%
    Monthly Breakdown of Deaths by Gender in Syria
    March 18, 2011 through September 4, 2012 – Source: Syria Tracker
    After a notable spike in August 2011, the relative amounts of female deaths have remained elevated since February 2012 (renewed attack on Homs), and have remained elevated despite the UN Ceasefire. Despite the increased action of the Free Syrian Army in recent months, it is somewhat surprising that female deaths are remaining at these levels.   Unfortunately this means that, despite the Syrian government’s claims that “terrorists” are being targeted, many civilians are still being killed.  A graphic breakdown of deaths by month and gender is shown below. 
     Stacked Representation of Monthly Deaths by Gender in Syria
    March 18, 2011 through September 4, 2012 – Source: Syria Tracker
    We have also analyzed the relative percentage of reported female deaths by governate (the 13 provinces of Syria, as well as the city of Damascus) for this time period, the results are shown below.  If we consider the provinces where there were more than 100 reported deaths and a rate of 7.5% or higher in female deaths, the Governates of Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Dayr Az Zor have the highest reported rates. We have also included the female population from the 2004 Syrian Census (the latest available), and compared the number of reported deaths to the 2004 female population to get a feel for which areas would provide a high level of risk for female fatalities.  From this perspective Homs had by far the highest rate of female deaths, with Idleb, Dayr Az Zour, and Dara forming the next level of intensity.  From both perspectives, Homs ranks as a region where deaths of women are more likely, and this unfortunately corresponds to the data form Women Under Siege that shows higher degrees of sexual assaults in homes and assaults perpetrated by the Shabiha.
    Governate
    Male Deaths
    Female Deaths
    % Female Deaths
    2004 Fem Pop
    Deaths Per 100 K
    Al_Qunaytirah/القنيطرة
    51
    3
    5.56%
    32588
    9.206
    Aleppo/حلب
    2309
    223
    8.81%
    1954486
    11.410
    As_Suweida/السويداء
    13
    0
    0.00%
    157436
    0.000
    City_Damascus/دمشق
    1361
    62
    4.36%
    755949
    8.202
    Damascus/ريف دمشق
    4989
    337
    6.33%
    1101328
    30.599
    Dara/درعا
    2698
    220
    7.54%
    412934
    53.277
    Dayr_Az_Zor/دير الزور
    1650
    217
    11.62%
    490822
    44.212
    Hama/حماة
    2687
    238
    8.14%
    673332
    35.347
    Hassakeh/الحسكة
    94
    0
    0.00%
    628150
    0.000
    Homs/حمص
    6975
    786
    10.13%
    742988
    105.789
    Idleb/إدلب
    4037
    319
    7.32%
    612491
    52.082
    Lattakia/اللاذقية
    506
    32
    5.95%
    431768
    7.411
    Raqqa/الرقة
    86
    2
    2.27%
    386380
    0.518
    Tartous/طرطوس
    70
    7
    9.09%
    343294
    2.039
    Grand Totals
    27526
    2446
    8.16%
    8723946
    28.038
    Breakdown of Deaths by Governate and Gender in Syria
    March 18, 2011 through September 4, 2012 – Source: Syria Tracker
    A graphic representation of the reported female deaths per each 100,000 of the female population as indicated in the 2004 census is illustrated below. 
    Geospatial Graph of Reported Female Deaths in Syria Per 100K of 2004 Female Population
    March 18, 2011 through September 4, 2012 – Source: Syria Tracker