Harrowing Reality of Femicide

Definition, Characteristics, and Statistics

According to a UN Women article, “femicide is defined as an intentional killing with a gender-related motivation”. It is caused by institutionalized gender discrimination, unequal power dynamics, misogyny, sexism, and harmful social norms. Some characteristics that indicate a gender-based motivation include a previous record of harassment/violence against the victim by the perpetrator, abduction or kidnapping, mutilation of the deceased body, the body disposed of in a public space, hate crime, and sexual violence committed by the perpetrator against the victim before the murder. The murder of a victim working in the sex industry or forms of illegal exploitation such as trafficking and slavery, are also considered as femicides. 

In 2023, approximately 51,000 women and girls were killed at the hands of an intimate partner or other family members. 97% of femicide victims are said to know their perpetrators in France, and this is also found in other Western European countries.While men and boys make up the majority of homicide victims, an overwhelming number of women and girls are killed in private spaces, making even such spaces extremely unsafe.2024 marked the highest number of women and girls killed by an intimate partner or family member. The United Nations called femicide “the most extreme form of violence” and is evidence of the vulnerability of women and girls in the world today. 

Violence against transgender people has been on the rise worldwide, and the Trans Murder Monitoring 2023 research data showed that 94% of the reported murders of transgender people were trans women or trans feminine people. Vulnerable populations like transgender women, refugees, and immigrants are further marginalized and put in danger by this upward trend of violence against women. 

Although discussions about femicide have increased over the years, many countries do not categorize it as a separate crime. Perpetrators are simply charged with murder or manslaughter, and their gender-related intent is not made clear officially. 

Recent News of Femicide

This summer, Japanese news has been filled with reports of women being murdered. In August, three incidents occurred in quick succession within the span of a week. Each of them strongly exhibited elements of femicide. On August 20th, a 24-year-old woman was found murdered in her apartment building in Kobe. The man arrested for her murder reported that, he had planned an attack on a different woman in Hiroshima. A day after that incident, another man was arrested for killing his 61-year-old mother at their home. On August 26th, another woman was killed by her boyfriend in Chiba.

The brutal torture and livestreamed murders of 15-year-old Lara Gutierrez, 20-year-old Morena Verdi, and Brenda del Castillo, both 20, sparked mass protests in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The victims had been missing for 5 days after being lured into a van, and were found buried in the yard of a house. In January, Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, announced that he would remove femicide from the penal code. Last year, he shut down the government agency in charge of addressing gender inequality. The BBC reported that a woman is killed by a man every 36 hours in Argentina.

According to DW, in Germany, violence against women is on the rise. Every two days, a woman is murdered by her partner or former partner in Germany, and in Berlin, there are two femicides every week. Women’s shelters are underfunded, and there are not enough beds to cater to all of the survivors coming to take refuge. 

Preventing Gender-Based Violence

UN Women published a list of actions to take to prevent gender-based violence against women. It is absolutely crucial to listen to and believe survivors. Stepping forward to talk about abuse can require courage and bravery. They may feel shame or guilt for the abuse they endured, but it is important to remember that the responsibility lies with the perpetrator alone. If others are victim-blaming, remind them of how harmful and counter-productive it can be. 

One of the most important approaches to preventing violence against women is education. Conversations about gender roles, consent, bodily autonomy, and accountability at an early age are necessary to foster an environment where sexist and misogynistic ideas are not celebrated but denounced. Holding each other accountable, standing against rape culture, understanding consent, and learning signs of abuse are a handful of actions that we can all take to challenge traditional values and cycles of abuse. 

Written by まりか