Thousands of people took to the streets across the world Saturday to condemn violence against women on the international day highlighting the crime.

On the UN-designated International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, protesters marched in Europe and the Americas.

"The scourge of gender-based violence continues to inflict pain and injustice on too many," US President Joe Biden said in a statement.

"An estimated one in three women globally will experience physical violence, rape, or stalking at some point in their lifetimes. It’s an outrage."

"Particularly in areas of conflict, countless women and girls suffer at the hands of perpetrators who commit gender-based violence and use rape as a weapon of war."

In Guatemala, protesters kicked off commemorations on Friday evening, placing candles to write out 438 -- the number of women killed so far this year.

In the Chilean capital of Santiago, some 1,000 protesters marched through the streets Friday night, chanting "Not one step backward" and demanding action by the government to protect women

A women's advocacy group estimates that 40 femicides have occurred in the country this year.

Along Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana Beach, protesters lined up 722 pairs of women's shoes, from high-heels to sneakers, each pair before a woman's name to represent the femicides recorded in 2022 -- the highest number since 2019, according to the non-governmental Brazilian Forum on Public Safety.

And in Argentina, demonstrators -- including those concerned by the election of incoming president Javier Milei -- in Buenos Aires combined a protest on violence against women with a show of support for the Palestinian people.

Milei has suggested eliminating the Ministry of Women, Genders and Diversity -- in charge of preventing gender violence -- and has taken hardline stances on issues including abortion and equal pay