Most of Europe's most-wanted criminals are women
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The majority of the most-wanted fugitives in Europe are women. Europe's crime agency Europol has revealed a list of 21 criminals who are on the run from the authorities. Eighteen of these are women. The wanted suspects have been accused of a range of charges including murder, human and drug trafficking and robbery. The most-wanted list was released as part of Europol's "Crime has no gender" campaign. A spokeswoman said: "People think that usually these crimes are not being committed by women, but they are, and they are equally as serious as those committed by men." However, a crime expert told the BBC that: "Some women do commit serious crimes. They do so far less frequently than men."
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The Europol campaign hopes to raise awareness, "that women are just as likely to commit violent crimes as men." A spokeswoman said: "Even though the discourse is often around male fugitives, women can be just as bad." The campaign's website asks visitors the question: "Are women equally as capable of committing serious crimes as men?" It then answers that very question by stating: "The female fugitives featured on Europe's Most Wanted website prove that they are [capable]. The criminals - of both genders - in this new campaign by EU law enforcement are all wanted for grave offenses like murder, drug trafficking, fraud, theft and trafficking in human beings."
Sources:
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/19/europol-says-women-equally-capable-crime-men-reveals-most-wanted/
- https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/murder-gun-running-witchcraft-europes-20653976
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/10/19/women-fugitives-europol-posts-crime-has-no-gender-most-wanted-list/4035979002/
