2018
GLOBAL STUDY ON HOMICIDE
Gender-related killing of women and girls
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME
Vienna
GLOBAL STUDY ON HOMICIDE
Gender-related killing of women and girls
2018
Thegender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
2
DISCLAIMERS
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Suggested citation: UNODC, Global Study on Homicide 2018 (Vienna, 2018)
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Comments on the report are welcome and can be sent to:
Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
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Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
3
Preface
Homicide represents the most extreme form of violence against women, a lethal act on a continuum of
gender-based discrimination and abuse.
As this research shows, gender-related killings of women and girls remain a grave problem across regions,
in countries rich and poor. While the vast majority of homicide victims are men, killed by strangers, women
are far more likely to die at the hands of someone they know.
Women killed by intimate partners or family members account for 58 per cent of all female homicide
victims reported globally last year, and little progress has been made in preventing such murders. Targeted
responses are clearly needed.
This booklet – part of the forthcoming Global Study on Homicide by the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) – is being released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
2018 to raise awareness, increase understanding and inform action.
It is also a call for Governments to help us shed further light on these challenges by collecting the needed
data and reporting on all forms of gender-based violence.
UNODC remains committed to supporting Member States to strengthen evidence-based policies and
criminal justice responses that can prevent and end violence against women and gender-related killings.
Yury Fedotov
Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
4
Acknowledgements
Gender-related killing of women and girls was prepared by the Research and Trend Analysis Branch,
Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, under the
supervision of Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director of the Division, and Angela Me, Chief of the Research and Trend
Analysis Branch.
General coordination and content overview
Angela Me
Andrada-Maria Filip
Marieke Liem
Analysis and drafting
Andrada-Maria Filip
Jonathan Gibbons
Marieke Liem
Kristiina Kangaspunta
Data management and estimates production
Enrico Bisogno
Diana Camerini
Sarika Dewan
Michael Jandl
Alexander Kamprad
Mateus Rennó Santos
Graphic design and production
Anja Korenblik
Suzanne Kunnen
Kristina Kuttnig
Administrative support
Iulia Lazar
Review and comments
Gender-related killing of women and girls benefited from the expertise of and invaluable contributions
from UNODC colleagues in all divisions and field offices. Particular thanks are owed to the Justice Section
of the Division of Operations and the Gender Team at the Office of the Executive Director.
Cover drawing © Yasser Rezahi; photo of artwork Fabian Rettenbacher.
The research for this study was made possible by the generous contribution of Sweden.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
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Contents
Preface ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Contents ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Scope of the study ................................................................................................................................ 7
Introduction to the concept of gender-related killing of women and girls .............................................. 8
Key findings ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Intimate partner/family-related killing of women and girls: scale of the problem ................................ 13
Scale of the problem in numbers of victims .............................................................................................13
Scale of the problem in homicide rates ....................................................................................................13
Scale of the problem in shares of all women murdered ...........................................................................17
Female burden of intimate partner/family-related homicide ..................................................................18
Male and female rates of intimate partner/family-related homicide ......................................................19
Male and female rates of intimate partner homicide ..............................................................................21
The context of gender-related killing of women and girls ........................................................................22
Defining and understanding gender-related killing of women and girls ................................................ 24
Clustering gender-related killings of women and girls into different forms ............................................29
Perpetrators of intimate partner killings of women and girls ............................................................... 38
Victim and perpetrator characteristics .....................................................................................................38
Motives of perpetrators of intimate partner killings of women and girls ................................................39
Link between lethal and non-lethal violence against women ............................................................... 41
Criminal justice and policy responses to gender-related killing of women and girls .............................. 47
International responses ............................................................................................................................47
National responses ...................................................................................................................................48
Conclusions and Policy Implications .................................................................................................... 55
Annex ................................................................................................................................................. 57
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
7
Scope of the study
This study gives an overview of the scope of gender-related killing of women and girls. It provides in-depth
analysis of killings perpetrated within the family sphere and examines forms of gender-related killings
perpetrated outside the family sphere, such as the killing of women in conflict and the killing of female sex
workers. The study explores the scale of intimate partner/family-related killings of women and girls, and
describes different forms of gender-related killings of women. It also looks at the characteristics of the
perpetrators of intimate partner killings, the link between lethal and non-lethal violence against women,
and the criminal justice response.
The availability of data on intimate partner/family-related homicide means that such killings of females are
analysed in greater depth than other forms of “femicide”
1
and that the analysis focuses on how women
and girls are affected by certain norms, harmful traditional practices and stereotypical gender roles.
Although other forms of gender-related killing of women and girls are described, such as female infanticide
and the killing of indigenous or aboriginal women, given severe limitations in terms of data availability,
only literature-based evidence is provided.
The data presented in this study are based on homicide statistics produced by national statistical systems
in which the relationship between the victim and perpetrator or the motive is reported. While the
disaggregation of homicide data at country level has improved over the years, regional and global estimates
are based on a limited number of countries, with Africa and Asia accounting for most of the gaps.
……………..
1
Throughout this study the word “femicide” is written with quotation marks when it refers to a concept that is not clearly defined and
covers acts subject to a certain degree of interpretation. Femicide is written without quotation marks when referring to countries in Latin
America that have defined this concept in their national legislation.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
8
Introduction to the concept of gender-related killing
of women and girls
The focus of this study is on the killing of women and girls as a result of gender norms. Among the many
documents that draw attention to the alarming proportions reached by this phenomenon in all its different
manifestations, the 2013 United Nations General Assembly resolution on “Taking action against gender-
related killing of women and girls” is noteworthy.
2
Some national Governments, international organizations, academics and advocates of women’s rights use
the term “femicide” to refer to this problem. The notion of gender-related killing, or “femicide”, requires
an understanding of which acts are gender related; something that is subject to a certain degree of
interpretation. For example, in many cases there is a continuum of (intimate partner) violence that
culminates in the killing of women even when perpetrators have no specific (misogynistic) motives.
Nevertheless, some aspects of gender-related killing of women are indisputable, one being that this type
of homicide is part of female homicide, yet not all female homicides are gender related. Therefore, only a
specific, if considerable, share can be labelled “gender-related killings of women and girls”, i.e. “femicide”.
Gender-related killings of women and girls are committed in a variety of contexts and through different
mechanisms. In broader terms, such killings can be divided into those perpetrated within the family and
those perpetrated outside the family sphere. Data availability at regional and global level show that the
vast majority of cases of this type of crime fall into the first category.
Gender-related killing of women and girls is analysed in this study using the indicator for intimate
partner/family-related homicide. This provides a concept that covers most gender-related killings of
women, is comparable and can be aggregated at global level. Other existing national data labelled as
“femicide” are not comparable as countries use different legal definitions of this concept when collecting
……………..
2
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/191 specifically states: “Deeply concerned that the global prevalence of different
manifestations of the gender-related killing of women and girls is reaching alarming proportions, Concerned about violent gender-
related killing of women and girls, while recognizing efforts made to address that form of violence in different regions, including in
countries where the concept of femicide or feminicide has been incorporated into national legislation, draws attention to the alarming
proportions reached by this phenomenon in all its different manifestations. The resolution also noted that gender-related killing of
women and girls has been criminalized in some countries as “femicide” or “feminicide” and has been incorporated as such into
national legislation in those countries.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
9
data. Where data are available, however, it is clear that intimate partner/family-related homicide covers
most of the killings categorized as “femicide” and is a good fit for analysing trends in the latter.
UNODC collects data from Member States on intimate partner/family-related homicide as a proxy for
gender-related killings of women and the broad concept evolving around the notion of “femicide”. This
indicator covers female victims of homicide perpetrated by current or former intimate partners, or other
family members.
3
General sex-disaggregated homicide data are collected through regular UNODC data
collection on crime. Using the framework of the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes
(ICCS), homicide data can be categorized and analysed to define gender-related killings and quantify
intimate partner/family-related homicide.
4
While the majority of intentional homicide victims are male, the majority of the victims of intimate
partner/family-related homicide are women. Therefore, understanding the extent and patterns of the
killing of women and girls requires the dedicated analysis of intimate partner/family-related homicide
explored in this study.
……………..
3
UNODC collects data on intimate partner/family-related homicide through the Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of the Criminal
Justice System.
4
The ICCS disaggregates intentional homicide according to the relationship between victims and perpetrators. Victims of intimate
partner homicide include those killed by a current or former intimate partner or spouse. Victims of intimate partner/family-related
homicide also include those killed by a blood relative, household member or relative by marriage or adoption. More information
available at http://www.unodc.org/documents/ data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/ICCS/Gender_and_the_ICCS.pdf.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
10
Key findings
A total of 87,000 women were intentionally killed in 2017. More than half of them (58 per cent) ̶ 50,000 ̶
were killed by intimate partners or family members, meaning that 137 women across the world are killed
by a member of their own family every day. More than a third (30,000) of the women intentionally killed
in 2017 were killed by their current or former intimate partner ̶ someone they would normally expect to
trust.
Based on revised data, the estimated number of women killed by intimate partners or family members in
2012 was 48,000 (47 per cent of all female homicide victims). The annual number of female deaths
worldwide resulting from intimate partner/family-related homicide therefore seems be on the increase.
The largest number (20,000) of all women killed worldwide by intimate partners or family members in 2017
was in Asia, followed by Africa (19,000), the Americas (8,000) Europe (3,000) and Oceania (300). However,
with an intimate partner/family-related homicide rate of 3.1 per 100,000 female population, Africa is the
region where women run the greatest risk of being killed by their intimate partner or family members,
while Europe (0.7 per 100,000 population) is the region where the risk is lowest. The intimate
partner/family-related homicide rate was also high in the Americas in 2017, at 1.6 per 100,000 female
population, as well as Oceania, at 1.3, and Asia, at 0.9.
Even though the largest number of women and girls are killed by intimate partners or family members
in Asia, they run the greatest risk of being killed by an intimate partner or family member in Africa.
The regions with the largest number of females killed purely by intimate partners (not including other
family members) in 2107 were Asia and Africa (11,000 each), followed by the Americas (6,000), Europe
(2,000) and Oceania (200).
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
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Africa was also the region with the highest rate of females killed purely by intimate partners in 2017 (1.7
per 100,000 female population). The Americas had the second-highest rate (1.2), Oceania the third (0.9),
Europe the fourth (0.6) and Asia the fifth-highest rate (0.5 per 100,000 female population).
The global rate of female total homicide in 2017 was estimated to be 2.3 per 100,000 female population,
the global female intimate partner/family-related homicide rate was 1.3, while the female intimate partner
homicide rate was estimated at 0.8 per 100,000 female population.
More than two thirds of all women (69 per cent) killed in Africa in 2017 were killed by intimate partners or
family members, while more than a third (38 per cent) of women were killed by intimate partners or family
members in Europe. Oceania accounts for the largest share of all the regions in terms of women killed
exclusively by intimate partners, at 42 per cent, while Europe accounts for the lowest, at 29 per cent.
Only one out of every five homicides at global level is perpetrated by an intimate partner or family member,
yet women and girls make up the vast majority of those deaths. Victim/perpetrator disaggregations reveal
a large disparity in the shares attributable to male and female victims of homicides committed by intimate
partners or family members: 36 per cent male versus 64 per cent female victims.
Women also bear the greatest burden in terms of intimate partner violence. The disparity between the
shares of male and female victims of homicide perpetrated exclusively by an intimate partner is
substantially larger than of victims of homicide perpetrated by intimate partners or family members:
roughly 82 per cent female victims versus 18 per cent male victims.
Althoughwomenandgirlsaccountforafarsmallershareoftotalhomicidesthanmen,theybearbyfarthe
greatestburdenofintimatepartner/family‐relatedhomicide,andintimatepartnerhomicide.
These findings show that even though men are the principal victims of homicide globally, women continue
to bear the heaviest burden of lethal victimization as a result of gender stereotypes and inequality. Many
of the victims of “femicide” are killed by their current and former partners, but they are also killed by
fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters and other family members because of their role and status as women.
The death of those killed by intimate partners does not usually result from random or spontaneous acts,
but rather from the culmination of prior gender-related violence. Jealousy and fear of abandonment are
among the motives.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
12
Through the indicator “female victims of homicide perpetrated by intimate partners or family members”,
this study quantifies a significant share of all gender-related killings of women and girls perpetrated
globally, including forms that are prevalent across certain regions, such as dowry and honour killing. Given
the lack of data, it is not possible to quantify the number of gender-related killings outside the family, but
the study describes their different manifestations and provides examples where information is available.
The information available shows that, other than gender-related killings in conflict settings, gender-related
killings of women and girls outside the family are relatively rare in comparison to killings perpetrated by
intimate partners or other family members.
Countries have taken action to address violence against women and gender-related killings in different
ways, by adopting legal changes, early interventions and multi-agency efforts, as well as creating special
units and implementing training in the criminal justice system. Countries in Latin America have adopted
legislation that criminalizes femicide as a specific offence in their penal codes. Yet there are no signs of a
decrease in the number of gender-related killings of women and girls.
This study highlights what more can be done to prevent those killings. A more comprehensive range of
coordinated services needs to be provided by police, criminal justice systems, health and social services.
Moreover, in order to prevent and tackle gender-related killing of women and girls, men need to be
involved in efforts to combat intimate partner violence/family-related homicide and in changing cultural
norms that move away from violent masculinity and gender stereotypes.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
13
Intimate partner/family-related killing of women and
girls: scale of the problem
Scale of the problem in numbers of victims
The lethal victimization of women within the family sphere is encountered in all regions and countries.
UNODC estimates that the deaths of women and girls resulting from intentional homicide perpetrated by
an intimate partner or family member
5
amounted to a global total of 50,000 in 2017.
6
An improvement in
the coverage of gender-disaggregated country data has led UNODC to reevaluate the 2012 figure published
in the previous edition of the Global Study on Homicide to 48,000. The number of female deaths resulting
from intimate partner or family/related homicide may therefore have increased slightly.
7
Given that the total number of deaths of women and girls worldwide resulting from all forms of intentional
homicide amounted to 87,000 in 2017, more than half (58 per cent) of all female victims of intentional
homicide, or 137 every day, were actually killed by a member of their own family. The number of women
killed purely by their intimate partners (not including those killed by family members) was 30,000, meaning
that more than one third (34 per cent) of all women and girls intentionally killed worldwide, or 82 every
day, are killed by someone whom they would normally trust and expect to care for them.
Scale of the problem in homicide rates
The number of victims is only one way of looking at the toll that intimate partner/family-related homicide
takes on women. Looking at the homicide rate per 100,000 female population offers a different
perspective. For example, in absolute numbers, the largest number of women killed by an intimate partner
or family member in 2017 was in Asia (20,000), by far the most populous of the five regions. However, at
3.1 per 100,000 female population, the highest rate of intimate partner/family-related homicide was in
Africa. Thus, while fewer women are killed by their intimate partner or family members in Africa than in
Asia, women are actually at a higher risk of being killed by their intimate partner or family members in
Africa. Women are also most at risk of being killed by their intimate partners (not including other family
members) in Africa (1.7 per 100,000 female population) and the Americas (1.2), while they are least at risk
in Oceania (0.9), Europe (0.6) and Asia (0.5).
Estimated at 1.3 per 100,000 population in 2017, although slightly lower than in 2012, when it stood at 1.4
per 100,000 population, the female intimate partner/family-related homicide can be considered stable at
global level. However, the female intimate-partner/family-related homicide rate not only has variations in
the prevalence of homicide across regions but also between countries within those regions (see box 1).
These variations show that, in general, countries with relatively low female total homicide rates tend to
have a relatively larger share of female intimate partner/family-related homicides, whereas in countries
with relatively high female total homicide rates, the share of female intimate partner/family-related
homicides is relatively smaller. This is because more women are killed outside the family sphere, although
the actual intimate partner/family-related homicide rate may still be relatively high.
……………..
5
In heterosexual relationships, women are killed by a male partner, whereas those killed by family members are killed by both sexes.
6
When provided by countries, 2017 data has been used throughout this study. Otherwise data refer to the latest available year.
7
The Global Study on Homicide 2013 estimated that 43,600 women were killed in 2012 by their family members or intimate partners.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
14
BOX 1: Female total homicide and intimate partner/family-related homicide in
selected countries
Rates of female total homicide and of intimate partner/family-related homicide, selected countries in
Europe (2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
Rates of female total homicide and of intimate partner/family-related homicide, selected countries in
the Americas (2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics; Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
1.0
0.7
0.8
0.9
0.7
0.8
1.0
1.1
1.6
0.6
0.5
2.9
0.9
0.4
0.2
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.8
0.5
0.4
0.8
0.5
0.6
0.4
0.6
0.9
0.6
0.4
1.0
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.3
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Albania
Austria
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
Czechia
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Lithuania
Montenegro
Netherlands
Slovenia
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom
(Scotland)
Rate per 100,000 female population
Total homicide Intimate partner/family-related homicide
0.8
1.0
3.2
2.2
5.6
2.6
9.3
3.3
2.4
0.5
0.6
1.9
1.3
3.7
2.1
0.9
0.9
1.4
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
Canada
Chile
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
Peru
Uruguay
Rate per 100,000 female population
Total homicide Intimate partner/family-related homicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
15
Rates of female total homicide and of intimate partner/family-related homicide, selected countries in
Asia and Oceania (2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
Data on the killing of women perpetrated exclusively by intimate partners (not including other family
members) is even harder to come by than data on women killed by intimate partners or family members,
but where data are available (see box 2) the picture is similar to that relating to intimate-partner/family-
related homicide, as mentioned in the previous paragraph.
BOX 2: Female total homicide and intimate partner homicide in selected
countries
Rates of female total homicide and of intimate partner homicide, selected countries, Europe (2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
0.7
1.8
0.9
2.6
0.4
0.6
0.7
0.6
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Australia Azerbaijan Cyprus Mongolia
Rate per 100,000 female population
Total homicide
Intimate partner/family-related homicide
1.0
0.8
0.9
0.7
0.8
1.0
1.1
1.6
0.6
0.5
2.9
0.4
0.2
0.5
0.6
0.2
0.6
0.7
0.1
0.5
0.3
0.4
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.2
0.5
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.3
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Albania
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
Czechia
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Lithuania
Netherlands
Slovenia
Spain
Switzerland
Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
(Scotland)
Rate per 100,000 female population
Total homicide Intimate partner homicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
16
Rates of female total homicide and of intimate partner homicide, selected countries, Latin America and
the Caribbean (2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
Rates of female total homicide and of intimate partner homicide, selected countries, Asia (2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
8.1
0.8
1.0
3.2
2.2
2.6
9.3
3.3
5.8
2.4
2.7
0.3
0.4
1.6
1.0
2.1
0.9
0.7
4.3
1.0
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
Belize
Canada
Chile
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador
Guyana
Jamaica
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Rate per 100,000 female population
Total homicide
Intimate partner homicide
0.8
2.6
0.2
0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Jordan Mongolia
Rate per 100,000 female population
Total homicide
Intimate partner homicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
17
Scale of the problem in shares of all women murdered
While almost six out of every ten women (58 per cent) intentionally killed worldwide are actually murdered
by an intimate partner or other family member, there are marked disparities in this share across all the
regions.
In four of the six regions, the share is very large, making the home the most likely place for a woman to be
killed. At the upper extreme, more than two thirds of all women (69 per cent) intentionally killed in Africa
in 2017 were killed by intimate partners or other family members, while the region with the smallest share
of women killed by intimate partners or other family members was Europe (38 per cent). Oceania
accounted for the largest share of all the regions in terms of women killed exclusively by intimate partners,
at 42 per cent, while Europe accounted for the lowest (29 per cent).
Female victims of intimate partner/family-related homicide and of intimate partner
homicide as a percentage of female total homicide victims, by region (2017)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics (estimated).
Note: Any differences between the counts and percentages presented are because of roundings.
38%
35%
31%
29%
42%
34%
69%
46%
59%
38%
63%
58%
Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania Global
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of total victims of female homicide
Other female homicide
Intimate partner/family-related homicide
Intimate partner homicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
18
Female burden of intimate partner/family-related homicide
Although intimate partner/family-related homicide is the most important factor in understanding the
magnitude of female deaths resulting from intentional homicide, this form of homicide only accounts for a
relatively small proportion of all (male and female) homicides recorded globally. While still far too many,
fewer than one out of every five homicides (18 per cent) at global level were perpetrated by an intimate
partner or other family member in 2017. In terms of homicide perpetrated exclusively by an intimate
partner (not including other family members), the proportion was lower: roughly one out of every eight
(12 per cent) homicides.
At regional level, the portion of all homicides in 2017 caused by intimate partners or other family members
in Oceania (39 per cent), Asia and Europe (both 24 per cent) was significantly larger than the share of such
homicides in the other regions, particularly Africa and the Americas. In some countries in the Americas,
very high homicide rates are associated with crime (mainly organized crime), which means that the shares
of intimate partner/family-related homicide and of intimate partner homicide out of all homicides are
smaller than in other regions, although the number of victims is still high in comparative terms. With the
exception of Oceania, the disparity in the share of homicides caused by intimate partner or family members
and those caused purely by intimate partners is less marked between regions.
Although women and girls account for a far smaller share of total homicides than men, they bear by
far the greatest burden of intimate partner/family-related homicide, and intimate partner homicide.
At global level, men are around four times more likely than women to lose their lives as a result of
intentional homicide: gender-disaggregated data on homicide reveal that the shares attributable to male
and female victims remained very stable, with roughly 80 per cent of all homicides committed globally
attributable to male victims and 20 per cent to female victims.
Only one out of every five homicides at global level may be perpetrated by an intimate partner or family
member, yet women and girls make up the vast majority of those deaths. Victim/perpetrator
disaggregations reveal a large disparity in the shares attributable to male and female victims of homicide
committed by intimate partners or other family members: 36 per cent of victims were male, while 64 per
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
19
cent were female.
8
This represents an increase of 4 percentage points in the share of female victims of
intimate partner/family-related homicide since 2014.
Women also bear the greatest burden in terms of intimate partner homicide. The disparity between the
shares of male and female victims of homicide perpetrated exclusively by an intimate partner is
substantially larger than between male and female victims of homicide perpetrated by intimate partners
or family members, with an even greater share of female victims in the total number of homicides
committed: roughly 82 per cent were female victims while 18 per cent were male victims, a share that has
remained quite stable since 2012. Intimate partner violence continues to take a disproportionately heavy
toll on women.
Male and female rates of intimate partner/family-related
homicide
In terms of country examples of male and female rates of total homicide and intimate partner/family-
related homicide, because of existing limitations in the availability of data in countries in Africa and Asia,
victims of intimate partner/family-related homicide disaggregated by sex can only be analysed in a few
countries (see box 3). The picture shown in this sample is one in which intimate partner/family-related
homicide remains stable over time, despite changes in the overall homicide rate. These limited examples
also show that some countries may be an exception to the global pattern in which women are more likely
to be victims of intimate partner/family-related homicide than men. However, while both male and female
homicide is perpetrated within the domestic sphere, it is possible that the relationship between victims
and perpetrators is not recoded for all homicides. Progress has been made by countries in collecting sex-
disaggregated homicide data, yet advances made in collecting homicide data disaggregated by
victim/perpetrator relationship are still limited. There are therefore serious limitations in terms of data
availability for this indicator and, when reported, such figures may point towards an under-recording of
victims.
……………..
8
These findings are in line with those published in the Global Study on Homicide published by UNODC in 2011 and 2013, which also showed
that women were overwhelmingly represented in the share of victims of homicide committed by family members and intimate partners.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
20
BOX 3:
Male and female intimate partner/family-related homicide and total
homicide in selected countries
Rates of female intimate partner/family-related homicide and of total homicide, Armenia (left) and Sri
Lanka (right) (2010 ̶ 2013)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
Rates of male intimate partner/family-related homicide and of total homicide, Armenia (left) and Sri
Lanka (right) (2010 ̶ 2013)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
Rates of female intimate partner/family-related homicide and of total homicide, Egypt (left) and
Mauritius (right) (2009 ̶ 2011)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
21
Rates of male intimate partner/family-related homicide and of total homicide, Egypt (left) and Mauritius
(right) (2009 ̶ 2011)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
Male and female rates of intimate partner homicide
Although data availability on male and female rates of intimate partner homicide is very limited across
regions, it is possible to put those rates into perspective in a sample of European and Latin American
countries (see box 4). A substantial disparity is observable between these values across both regions, with
the female rate being much higher than the male rate. In Europe, the female intimate partner homicide
rate was, on average, four times higher than the male intimate partner homicide rate in 2016. As significant
as this may be, it is important to highlight the fact that these rates are very low when compared with overall
national homicide rates. In Latin America, the disparity was even larger, as the female intimate partner
homicide rate was five times higher than the male rate.
Asia, Europe and Oceania generally have low levels of homicide but the share of women among all homicide
victims tends to be higher than in regions with higher levels of homicide. This observation is in line with
the first of “Verkko’s laws”, the “static law”, which holds that the higher the level of homicide, the smaller
the share of female victims and perpetrators. In other words, in countries with low homicide rates the
difference between male and female homicide rates is smaller than in countries with high homicide rates.
9
……………..
9
Verkko, V., “Homicides and suicides in Finland and their dependence on national character”, Scandinavian Studies in Sociology, vol. 3
(Copenhagen, Gads Forlag, 1951).
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
22
BOX 4: Male and female intimate partner homicide in selected countries
Intimate partner homicide rate, by sex, Europe (2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
Rate of intimate partner homicide, by sex, Latin America and the Caribbean (2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics.
The context of gender-related killing of women and girls
While the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS) provides the framework for
recording homicide and crime data, according to the situational context, geographical location, date, time
and motive, very few countries release national data on the circumstances surrounding gender-related
killings of women and girls. Anecdotal information is available for very few countries. Reports from
Argentina
10
and Peru indicate that the majority of gender-related killings of women and girls, or femicide,
in those countries are perpetrated in large cities, usually the capital. In the case of Peru, the mechanism
……………..
10
Registro Nacional de Femicidios de la Justicia Argentina, Datos estadísticos del poder judicial sobre femicidios 2014-2016. Available at
https://www.csjn.gov.ar/om/femicidios.html.
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.5
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
Croatia
Finland
France
Hungary
Netherlands
Spain
Rate per 100,000 population
Female
Male
0.4
0.9
1.6
1.0
1.0
0.7
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
Chile
Jamaica
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador
Uruguay
Peru
Rate per 100,000 population
Female
Male
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
23
for committing femicide is often asphyxiation or strangulation, stabbing, beating or shooting by firearm.
11
Over the period 2011-2014, the majority of gender-related killings in Peru occurred in the private sphere,
whether in the house occupied by the perpetrator and the victim, the house of the victim or the house of
the perpetrator.
12
……………..
11
Instituto Nacional de Estadística, “Homicidios en el Perú, contándolos uno a uno: 2011-2014” (Observatorio de Igualdad de Género de
América Latina y el Caribe, 2105), p. 37. Available at https://oig.cepal.org/es/documentos/homicidios-peru-contandolos-2011-2014-
feminicidio-ministerio-publico.
12
Instituto Nacional de Estadística, “Homicidios en el Perú, contándolos uno a uno 2011-2014”, p. 45.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
24
Defining and understanding gender-related killing
of women and girls
Two terms, “femicide” and “feminicide”, are widely used in relation to the concept of gender-related killing
of women and girls. The conventional understanding conveys the idea that hate crimes against women are
perpetrated by men simply because of the gender roles assigned to women.
The term “femicide” was coined in the literature several decades ago to define the gender-related
motivation associated with the killing of women and girls.
13
Although the term has attracted attention to
the extent that it is now used by some Governments and a wide range of stakeholders, at global level there
is no commonly agreed definition of what constitutes “femicide”. What is observable, however, is a
plurality of definitions stemming from different legal and sociological approaches, which indicate the
elements that may contribute to labelling a crime “femicide”. The following section provides an overview
of the sort of crimes that have been considered in the context of gender-related killing of women or
“femicide”.
The history of the term “femicide” goes back to the term coined in the 1970s,
14
which sought to raise
awareness of the violent deaths of women and referred to the killing of females by males because they are
females. Subsequently, “femicide” was defined in the first anthology on “femicide” published in 1992 as
“the misogynous killing of women by men motivated by hatred, contempt, pleasure, or a sense of
ownership over women, rooted in historically unequal power relations between women and men”. In the
past few decades, the term and its associated problem has been gaining recognition by academics, civil
society organizations, international organizations and regional organizations such as the European Union.
15
For example, a report by the United Nations Secretary General in 2006 referred to “femicide” as “the
gender-based murder of a woman” and “the murder of women because they are women”. The report
focused on certain settings and community contexts, such as intimate partner violence, armed conflict and
dowry disputes, in which those crimes were being perpetrated.
16
The report also highlighted certain
characteristics of such homicides, as well as the underlying gender inequality between men and women
that fuels them, thus illustrating the interrelationship between cultural norms and the use of violence in
the subordination of women.
17
In September 2018, the European Union and the United Nations launched
a joint programme aimed at tackling “femicide” in Latin America.
18
While men are usually considered to be the perpetrators of gender-related killings of women and girls, this
is not the case in all situations. Historically, the study of female victimization has been focused on intimate
partner killings perpetrated by men, as intimate partner killings account for a significant share of gender-
related killings of women and girls.
19
Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind that in some instances
women can also be perpetrators of extreme gender-based violence against other women. For example, in
cases of honour killings, both male and female family members may be complicit.
Several theoretical approaches to gender-related killing of women and girls have emerged in contemporary
theory. The feminist approach is connected to the notion of patriarchy, which highlights the fact that power
……………..
13
See footnote 2.
14
Radford, J. and Russell, D. (eds.), Femicide: The Politics of Woman Killing (Buckingham, Open University Press, 1992).
15
European Parliament resolution of 14 March 2017 on equality between women and men in the European Union in 2014-2015
(2016/2249(INI)). Available at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P8-TA-2017-0073&language=EN.
16
A/61/122/Add.1, In-depth study on all forms of violence against women, Report of the Secretary-General, p. 41 and p. 31.
17
A/61/122/Add.1, In-depth study on all forms of violence against women, Report of the Secretary-General, p. 31 and p. 47.
18
Available at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-5904_en.htm.
19
Dawson, M. and Gartner R., “Differences in the characteristics of intimate femicides: the role of relationship state and relationship
status”, Homicide Studies, Vol. 2 (November 1998), pp. 378-399.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
25
is unequally distributed between women and men in society, meaning that violence is often used as a tool
by men to keep women under control.
20
The criminological approach to gender-related killing of women and girls, or “femicide”, has emerged in
the past two decades, to the extent that it is now used in epidemiology and public health research.
21
Criminological studies apply different terms to the analysis of this phenomenon, with some studies
applying the term broadly to indicate the killing of a woman,
22
while others focus on intimate partner
homicide, which they analyse as a subset of the broader homicide category.
23
Previously defined by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women as “the
culmination of pre-existing forms of violence, often experienced in a continuum of violent acts”, the notion
of “femicide” is inextricably linked to violence against women.
24
As such, the violence experienced by
women is influenced by conditions of gender-based discrimination, often reflected in patterns attributable
to gender-related killings of women, whereby structural factors influencing such discrimination are
encountered at the macrolevel of social, economic and political systems.
25
Due to the lack of a standardized definition of “femicide”, data collected by countries under this label are
not comparable and cannot be used for global or regional estimates to provide an indication of the scale
of this phenomenon. The way this type of offence is criminalized under a country’s legal system bears an
influence on the kind of data that is collected by the criminal justice system. Existing national reports on
“femicide” indicate that official data sometimes capture the number of cases of what could be broadly
considered gender-related killing of women and girls, and not necessarily the number of “femicide” victims
and subsequent disaggregations concerning the perpetrators, mechanism and context of killings related to
the number of victims.
The indicator “female victims of homicide perpetrated by intimate partners or family members” is used
instead, as this represents the only concept that has a standard definition across countries and, when
operationalized, that yields comparable data. This concept is standardized in the International
Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS).
26
The advantage of using the ICCS for the purpose of
recording and collecting statistical data relevant to this field is that the classification is built on a set of
behaviours and not legal definitions enshrined in criminal codes, as the latter differ across countries (see
box 5 for a comparison of data on the two indicators, “femicide” and “intimate partner/family-related
homicide”).
……………..
20
Corradi, C. et al., “Theories of femicide and their significance in social research”, Current Sociology, vol. 64, No.7 (International
Sociology Association, 2016), p. 5.
21
Ibid., p 7.
22
Campbell, J. et al., “Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: results from a multisite site case control study”, American Journal
of Public Health, vol. 93, No.7 (2003), pp. 1089-1097.
23
Stoeckl, H. et al., “The global prevalence of intimate partner homicide: A systematic review”, The Lancet, Vol. 382 (2013), pp. 859-865.
24
A/HRC/20/16, Report of the Special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo (2012), para.
15.
25
Ibid., para. 17.
26
UNODC, International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (Vienna, 2015).
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
26
BOX 5: Comparison of data on “femicide”, female total homicide, and female
intimate partner/family-related homicide
The charts below compare different data associated with the notion of gender-related killing of women
and girls: the rates of female homicide, intimate partner/family-related homicide and “femicide” in
countries where all three types of data are available. There is not a consistent pattern in the comparison
of nationally-defined data on “femicide” and the standardized concept of intimate partner/family-related
homicide. This depends on how “femicide” is defined in national legislation and whether the definition
covers crimes committed in both the public and private spheres. In some countries, the two indicators
reveal the same values, in others the rate of “femicide” is higher or the rate of intimate partner/family-
related homicide is higher.
The analyses presented in the graphs below show that criminal justice recording practices regarding
“femicide” vary significantly across countries that have adopted legislation to criminalize the offence.
Legislation that addresses “femicide” helps to combat impunity and raise awareness in society of its gravity,
but data resulting from specific “femicide” legislation may misinterpret the level of the crime. Even though
certain countries have criminalized “femicide” as a separate criminal offence, in many instances such
crimes are still being recorded and prosecuted purely as homicide. This is because of obstacles encountered
during criminal proceedings and a lack of evidence in identifying a perpetrator or the circumstances in
which the crime was committed. In such cases, data recorded as “femicide” may underestimate the
number of gender-related killings.
For statistical purposes, looking at behaviours observed during the criminal act and the type of relationship
existing between victims and perpetrators, rather than how the act is coded in the criminal justice system,
provides measures that are more standardized across legislations and easier to interpret.
Comparison of levels
Rates of female total homicide, female intimate partner/family-related homicide, intimate partner
homicide and femicide, Latin America and the Caribbean (2016 or latest available year)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics; ECLAC.
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
Argentina
Barbados
Chile
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador
Grenada
Paraguay
Peru
Trinidad and
Tobago
Uruguay
Rate per 100,000 female population
Total female Intimate partner/family-related Intimate partner Femicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
27
Comparison of trends
Rates of female total homicide, intimate partner/family-related homicide and femicide, Uruguay (2008-
2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics; ECLAC.
Rates of female total homicide, intimate partner/family-related homicide and femicide,
Trinidad and Tobago (2006-2015)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics; ECLAC.
Rates of female total homicide, intimate partner/family-related homicide and femicide,
Peru (2011-2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics; ECLAC.
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Rate per 100,000 female
population
Total homicide
Intimate partner/
family-related homicide
Femicide
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Rate per 100,000 female
population
Total homicide
Intimate partner/
family-related homicide
Femicide
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Rate per 100,000 female
population
Total homicide
Intimate partner/
family-related homicide
Femicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
28
Rates of female total homicide, intimate partner/family-related homicide and femicide,
Chile (2014-2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics; Fiscalia Nacional: ECLAC.
Note: According to national legislation in Chile, only cases of femicide committed by current or former intimate partners are covered.
Rates of female total homicide, intimate partner homicide and femicide, Peru (2012-2016)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics; ECALC; Registro de Feminicidios del Ministerio Publico.
It is important to acknowledge that the indicator “intimate partner/family-related homicide” is not
exhaustive, as it does not capture all killings of women that may be considered under the label “femicide”,
excluding those homicides perpetrated outside the family sphere, such as some killings of female sex
workers or gender-related killings of women and girls in conflict situations. The availability of data on
homicides perpetrated outside the family sphere is limited and, given the nature and circumstances in
which such crimes are perpetrated, it is extremely difficult to identify the perpetrator, establish the
motivation behind the crime and record it. Where data on gender-related killing of women and girls outside
the family sphere are available, they show that the number of such killings outside conflict zones is very
small in comparison to the total number of killings resulting from intimate partner/family-related homicide.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
29
In Argentina and Peru, for example, where data on femicide/feminicide perpetrated both within and
outside the intimate partner or family sphere are collected by the Government, data indicate that the
majority of cases are committed by intimate partners or family members, with only a small percentage
being committed by persons unknown to the victim.
While comparable global and regional estimates on gender-related killings of women and girls can, to date,
only be based on intimate partner/family-related homicide, the description of different forms of gender-
related killing of women and girls below provides an overview of other forms of gender-related killing of
women and girls that occur outside the family sphere. The killing of female sex workers is presented as an
example of gender-related killing outside the family sphere, although it represents a small proportion of
all gender-related killings of women and girls, as indicated by data collected in Italy and Colombia.
BOX 6: United Nations undertakings aimed at preventing and combating
gender-related killing of women and girls
The United Nations General Assembly adopted two resolutions on gender-related killing of women and
girls in 2013 A/RES/68/191
27
and 2015 A/RES/70/176.
28
In 2014, UNODC convened an intergovernmental expert group meeting on gender-related killing of women
and girls, which discussed United Nations reports and information provided by Member States and civil
society organizations, making a number of recommendations, including on data collection and analysis.
29
The recommendations envisage practical measures to be undertaken by Member States in order to
improve prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of gender-related killing. They are
contained in the report of the Secretary-General on “Action against gender-related killing of women and
girls” (A/70/93).
30
The former United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women started to develop a knowledge
base around the topic of “femicide” and identified an extensive set of direct and indirect categories.
31
The
current United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women identified prevention of “femicide”
as an immediate priority of her mandate and emphasized the importance of collecting comparable data on
“femicide” disaggregated by the relationship between victims and perpetrators, age and ethnicity of
victims, together with information on the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators.
32
To this end, the
Special Rapporteur called upon Member States to establish “femicide/gender-related killing of women
watches”, which are mechanisms to be created at the national level, with the purpose of undertaking
systematic and detailed recording of “femicide”, in order to further develop preventive measures and guide
policymaking in this area.
33
Clustering gender-related killings of women and girls into
different forms
The following is a description of recognizable forms of gender-related killing of women and girls based on
the definition of “femicide” provided by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women
.
The prevalence of these different forms of killing may be global, regional or national:
34
……………..
27
A/RES/68/191.
28
A/RES/70/176.
29
For further information, see https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/justice-and-prison-reform/expert-group-meetings7.html.
30
Available at http://digitallibrary.un.org/record/797541/files/A_70_93-EN.pdf.
31
A/HRC/20/16, Report of the Special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo (2012), para.
16.
32
A/HRC/32/42, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (2016), para. 45.
33
A/71/398, Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (2016), para. 32.
34
A/HRC/20/16.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
30
1. Killings of women and girls as a result of intimate partner and domestic violence
Family homicides, also known as domestic homicides, include homicides perpetrated by intimate partners
or by other family members: siblings, parents, children, other blood relatives and other members of the
family. While in some countries the reported number of victims of intimate partner homicides and family
homicides represent almost equal shares of male and female victims, this pattern varies significantly across
countries.
As shown earlier in this study, in the context of gender-related killing of women within the family sphere
the perpetrators are often intimate partners. Intimate partner homicide refers to homicide committed by
a current or previous intimate partner. Criminological literature uses the term “uxoricide” to denote the
killing of a female intimate partner, although strictly speaking, the term is only applicable to female victims,
while “mariticide” is only applicable to male victims. However, given the fact that the vast majority of
intimate partner homicide victims include women, uxoricide often is often used to refer to the entire
category.
The prevalence of intimate partner violence has been well documented in recent decades.
35
Previous
studies on homicide point out that, without exception, females run a greater risk than men of falling victim
to intimate partner homicide.
36
The first Global Study on Homicide showed that in certain countries,
particularly in Europe, between 40 and 70 per cent of female victims of homicide may be killed by an
intimate partner.
Intimate partner violence in general victimizes women in particular and the same can be said about
homicides perpetrated by intimate partners. As mentioned earlier, in homicide cases when an intimate
partner was implicated, 82 per cent of the victims were women, while 18 per cent were men.
Intimate partner violence against women and girls is rooted in widely-accepted gender norms about men’s
authority within society in general and the family in particular, and men’s use of violence to exert control
over women.
37
Research shows that men and boys who adhere to rigid views of gender roles and
masculinity ̶ for example, the belief that men need more sex than women or that men should dominate
women, including sexually ̶ are more likely to use violence against a partner, among other negative
outcomes.
38
While available studies and their findings vary across different settings, some researchers have
identified ideas of male privilege and control among the main factors predicting the perpetration of
violence against women.
39
Key findings published by the World Health Organization indicate that men are
more likely to perpetrate violence if they have a limited education, a history of childhood maltreatment,
exposure to domestic violence against their mothers, harmful use of alcohol, unequal gender norms,
including attitudes that normalize the use of violence, and a sense of entitlement over women.
40
When it comes to non-lethal violence against women, sexual violence in adolescent relationships tends to
be associated with multiple individual and contextual factors, including exposure to adverse childhood
experiences, poor conflict-resolution and relationship skills, and norms that condone violence
……………..
35
Dobash R. et al., “Not an ordinary killer - just an ordinary guy: when men murder an intimate partner”, Violence against Women, vol.
10 (2004), pp. 577-605; Campbell, J.C., Sharps P. and Glass N., “Risk assessment for intimate partner violence”, Clinical Assessment of
Dangerousness: Empirical Contributions (New York, Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 136-157.
36
UNODC, Global Study on Homicide 2013 (Vienna, 2013); UNODC, Global Study on Homicide 2011 (Vienna, 2011).
37
Dunkle, K. L. and Jewkes, R., “Effective HIV prevention requires gender-transformative work with men”, Sexually Transmitted
Infections, Vol. 83(3), (2007) pp. 173-174.
38
Courtenay, W. H., “Better to die than cry? A longitudinal and constructionist study of masculinity and the health risk behavior of young
American men” Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 59(8-A), (1998) 3207.; Pulerwitz, J. and
Barker, G., “Measuring attitudes toward gender norms among young men in Brazil: Development and psychometric evaluation of the
GEM scale”, Men and Masculinities, vol. 10(3), (2008) pp. 322-338.
39
Jewkes, R.K., “Intimate partner violence: causes and prevention”, The Lancet, vol. 359 (2002), pp. 1423-1429.
40
See World Health Organization Violence against women-Key Facts. Available at http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-
sheets/detail/violence-against-women.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
31
perpetration.
41
The perpetration of sexual violence often emerges in the context of male peers who
demonstrate negative attitudes towards females, endorse bias-based
prejudices regarding homosexuality
and condone abuse perpetration. As regards male adolescents, perceived peer tolerance of sexual violence
in relationships may promote the individual likelihood of such behaviour and “may reduce comfort and the
ability to intervene when faced with negative behaviours among peers, contributing to a social climate that
enables such behavior”.
42
The vast majority of intimate partner homicides occur between heterosexual couples, most frequently
involving a male perpetrator and a female partner. Intimate partner homicide among same-sex couples,
bisexual and transgender couples also occurs, although much less frequently. Prior research in this area is
scarce, and has focused mostly on same-sex relationships. However, research in the United States found
that male same-sex intimate partner homicide occurs about 12 times more often than female same-sex
homicides.
43
This pattern was confirmed by another study that used a Chicago homicide dataset from the
period 1965-1990, in which 41 homicides involved male same-sex couples while 5 homicides involved
female same-sex couples.
44
A recent analysis in three European countries, found that a total of 2 per cent of all intimate partner
homicides involved male same-sex couples in both Finland and Sweden and 7 per cent involved male same-
sex couples in the Netherlands. None of the intimate partner homicides in the timeframe studied occurred
in female same-sex couples.
45
2. Honour-related killings of women and girls
Honour-related killings of women and girls are usually committed by family members when they consider
that the behaviour of female family members has brought shame on the family and needs to be sanctioned.
This kind of killing is a consequence of men’s domineering relationships with women.
46
Typical patterns of
behaviour that are perceived to transgress strict patriarchal gender roles include a young woman eloping
with a man other than the husband-to-be chosen by her family, and engaging in pre-marital relations.
Honour killings have also been reported when female rape victims have been killed by the male elders of
their families, including fathers, uncles and brothers, in order to spare the family the shame associated
with the stigma of sexual violence suffered by unmarried women.
47
Available data on honour killings are scarce, as such crimes often go unrecorded and unreported.
Nevertheless, existing studies indicate that honour killing remains a practice that is encountered in parts
of Asia, in particular. When perpetrated in rural areas, such crimes are particularly difficult to record, yet
efforts have been made to reveal the scope of this problem in certain countries. In Afghanistan, for
example, a National Inquiry Report published by the Government Human Rights Commission estimated
that some 243 cases of honour killing had occurred between April 2011 and August 2013.
48
The risk of
falling victim to such crimes was higher among youth and the middle-aged, and when the victim was an
unmarried girl, the crime was usually committed by male family members; although to a lesser extent, it
may also have been perpetrated by female family members.
49
……………..
41
Engendering healthy masculinities to prevent sexual violence: Rationale for and design of the Manhood 2.0 trial, Contemporary Clinical
Trials 71 (2018) 18-32. Available at https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://promundoglobal.org/wp-
content/uploads/2018/06/PIIS1551714418300296.pdf.
42
Ibid.
43
Glass, N. et al., “Female-perpetrated femicide and attempted femicide: a case study”, Violence against Women, 10 (2004), pp. 606-625.
44
Block, C. R. and Christakos, A., “Intimate partner homicide in Chicago over 29 years”, NCCD news, 41(4) (1995), pp. 496-526.
45
Liem, M.,et al., “Intimate partner homicide in Europe, Colloque International sur l'Homicide” (Paris, June 2017).
46
National Inquiry report on: factors and causes of rape and honour killing in Afghanistan, 2013, Afghanistan Human Rights Commission,
p. 8.
47
Puttick, M., The Lost Women of Iraq: Family-based Violence During Armed Conflict (Minority Rights Group International, 2015), p. 26.
48
National Inquiry report on: factors and causes of rape and honour killing in Afghanistan, 2013, Afghanistan Human Rights Commission,
p. 4.
49
Ibid.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
32
Anecdotal evidence provided by news outlets and human rights commissions in some Asian countries have
indicated that many victims of honour killing were married women and the perpetrator was often the
husband. The motive for the killing was frequently linked to the victim’s illicit affairs, or her choice of
marriage. In certain instances, other members of the family, such as parents, siblings, uncles, in-laws, other
distant relatives or even neighbours and acquaintances were responsible for the crimes. Mechanisms used
for committing honour killings often involved firearms and, to a lesser extent, blunt objects and
strangulation, beating and burning; the majority of victims were not employed.
3. Dowry-related killings of women
Referring to instances in which brides are killed or driven to commit suicide after being subjected to
continuous harassment and abuse by the groom’s family in an effort to extort dowry payment or increased
dowry involving cash or goods,
50
dowry-related killings of women are widely reported in South-Asian
countries. A common manifestation of this practice is the burning of the wife, such incidents often being
presented to criminal justice authorities as accidents caused by an exploding kitchen stove.
51
Despite the
fact that many of the countries in which dowry deaths are prevalent have adopted legislation banning the
practice of dowry, it remains embedded in religious and cultural traditions in South-Asian countries.
52
BOX 7: Dowry-related killings in India
Dowry deaths constitute a unique category of deaths in India’s Penal Code, which has been amended in
recent decades to specifically deal with dowry-related violence.
53
The offence “dowry death” was
introduced into India’s Penal Code in 1986 as section 304-B by an amendment to the Dowry Prohibition
Act. Section 498-A of India’s Penal Code penalizes any kind of harassment by a husband’s family; the penal
provisions of section 304-B may apply in any unnatural death of a woman within seven years of marriage.
In cases where a woman commits suicide as a result of harassment by her husband or his family, non-
dowry-related section 306 is applicable. In cases of dowry-related suicide, both sections 304-B and 306 are
applicable. Available data on dowry-related killings from the National Crime Records Bureau indicate that
female dowry deaths account for 40 to 50 per cent of all female homicides recorded annually in India,
representing a stable trend over the period 1999 to 2016. Despite legislation adopted by the Indian
Government in 1961, prohibiting the payment of dowry,
54
the practice continues throughout the country
and dowry deaths continue to account for a substantial share of all female homicides.
Rates of female homicide and dowry-related death, India (1999 ̶ 2016)
Source: National Crime Records Bureau, India.
……………..
50
A/HRC/20/16, Report of the Special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo (2012), para.
56.
51
Saha, K. K. and Mohanthy S., “Alleged dowry death: a study of homicidal burns”, Medicine, Science and the Law, vol. 46 (2006), pp. 105-
111.
52
Harmful traditional practices in three countries of South Asia: culture, human rights and violence against women, Gender and
Development Discussion Paper Series No. 21 (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 2012).
53
Belur, J., Tilley, N., Daruwalla, N., Kumar M., Tiwari V., and Osrin D. (2014), The social construction of “dowry deaths”, Social Science
and Medicine, vol. 119, pp. 1-9.
54
For more information, see Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
Rate per 100,000
female population
Female
homicide
Dowry
deaths
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
33
4. Killings of women in the context of armed conflict
The practice of targeting women in an armed conflict and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war
has been documented in several reports published by the United Nations.
55
The systematic use of rape
against women is used to destroy the fabric of societies, as women who have suffered conflict rape are
often shunned and ostracized by their communities. Mass rapes and killings of women and girls were
documented in the conflicts in Rwanda in 1994 and more recently in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo.
56
Mass killings of Yazidi women by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are reported to have
taken place in recent years in Iraq’s Sinjar province, after several mass graves were discovered.
57
Killings of women in conflict are often preceded by sexual abuse, whereby women are sometimes killed
together with their families; in other instances they are forced into slavery and subjected to sexual abuse.
58
Although it is not possible to accurately record gender-related killings of women and girls during armed
conflict, it is important to acknowledge that sexual violence, kidnapping and enslavement accompanied, or
preceded, by intentional killing has been systematically used against women in times of conflict. For this
reason, these unrecorded gender-based killings of women and girls may substantially elevate the global
number of victims of this type of homicide. The ICCS also considers intentional killings of civilians, i.e. non-
combatants, during armed conflict as intentional homicides, irrespective of whether they are committed
by combatants or non-combatants.
59
5. Gender-based killings of aboriginal and indigenous women
The thematic report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, addressing gender-related
killings of women, categorizes the killing of aboriginal and indigenous women as a form of “femicide”.
60
This categorization is made in the context of social, cultural, economic and political marginalization faced
by aboriginal and indigenous women, which exacerbates their vulnerabilities. Data on gender-related
killings of aboriginal and indigenous women are very scarce, making it a challenge to comprehensively
analyse this phenomenon. Data from Canada show that aboriginal and indigenous girls may experience
much higher levels of violence than non-aboriginal women, both in terms of victimization (as indicated by
data collected through the General Social Survey)
61
and lethal violence (as shown by data collected through
the Canadian Homicide Survey). While these data are not disaggregated by motive and it is not possible to
specifically identify gender-related violence, they point to a significant problem that requires further
research. The murder and disappearance of large numbers of aboriginal women prompted the Government
of Canada to launch a national public inquiry in 2015 to investigate such cases.
62
Victimization of aboriginal
women and girls is also encountered in other regions, such as Central America and Oceania.
63
In
Guatemala, for example, during the Civil War in the 1980s large-scale violent killings of indigenous Maya
women were perpetrated.
64
……………..
55
A/HRC/37/CRP.3, Ï lost my dignity”: Sexual and gender-based violence in the Syrian Arab Republic.
56
S/2017/249, Report of the Secretary General on Conflict-related Sexual Violence, p. 16.
57
A/HRC/32/CRP.2, “They came to destroy us”: ISIS Crimes Against the Yazidis, para. 48.
58
A/HRC/37/CRP.3, “I lost my dignity”: Sexual and gender-based violence in the Syrian Arab Republic, para. 17.
59
ICCS Briefing Note, Unlawful killings in conflict situations (2017), p. 2. Available at www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-
analysis/statistics/crime/ICCS/Unlawful_killings_conflict_situations_ICCS.pdf.
60
For further information, see A/HRC/20/16, p. 15.
61
Boyce, J., Victimization of Aboriginal People in Canada, 2014 (Statistics Canada, Ministry of Industry, 2016).
62
The national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, Our Women and Girls Are Sacred, Interim Report (2017),
p. 19.
63
A/HRC/20/16, Report of the Special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo (2012), para.
61.
64
Carey, D. and Torres, G., “Precursors to femicide: Guatemalan women in a vortex of violence”, Latin American Research Review, vol.
45(3), (2010), pp. 142-164.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
34
Rates of aboriginal and non-aboriginal female homicide, Canada (2001-2014)
Source: Statistics Canada.
6. Extreme forms of violent killings of women
Extreme violent killings of women take place in the context of phenomena such as organized crime, drug
dealing, gangs, massive migration and human and drug trafficking chains. Trafficking in persons affects
more women than men, the former being predominately trafficked for sexual exploitation.
65
Killings
related to victims of human trafficking are therefore likely to affect women and involve a gender-related
motive.
Not much is known about gender-related killing of women in the context of organized crime. The illegal
context of organized crime reduces the scope for gender-related killings to be perpetrated in the context
of illegal markets (unless they are related to the nature of the business, as in the context of human
trafficking) because of the overwhelming need for offenders to minimize risk and exposure. Research on
gender roles in gangs has shown that while male gang members generally experience higher rates of street
victimization than female gang members, the violent victimization of female gang members can be sexual
in nature and perpetrated not only by rival gang members but also by fellow gang members. In addition,
women associated with male gang members are at greater risk of serious violence than women who are
not.
66
7. Killings as a result of sexual orientation and gender identity
Gender-related killing as a result of sexual orientation and gender identity represents another form of
“femicide” that has been insufficiently documented and analysed.
67
Such killings have also been labelled
as “gender bias crimes”, which reflect controlling behaviour in which others are held accountable to
heterosexual norms.
68
8. Killings of women due to accusations of sorcery or witchcraft
Intentional killings of women due to sorcery or witchcraft-related accusations have been reported in Africa,
Asia and the Pacific Islands.
69
Existing studies analysing witchcraft killings in countries in Africa point out
that while young women, including girls, are targeted by witchcraft accusations and killed,
70
women face
……………..
65
UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (Vienna, 2016).
66
Gartner, R. and McCarthy, B. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Crime, (Oxford University Press, 2014).
67
A/HRC/20/16, Report of the Special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo (2012), para.
71.
68
Kelley, K. and Gruenewald, J., “Accomplishing masculinity through anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender homicide: a comparative
case study approach”, Men and Masculinities, vol. 18(1) (2015), pp. 3-29.
69
A/HRC/20/16, Report of the Special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo (2012), para.
36.
70
UnitedNationsInternationalChildren'sEmergencyFund(UNICEF), Children Accused of Witchcraft: An Anthropological Study of
Contemporary Practices in Africa (Dakar, UNICEF ACARVO, 2010), p. 5.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Rate per 100,000 female
population
Aboriginal Non-aboriginal
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
35
an increasing risk as they reach old age. Women in rural areas who live alone, which is often the case of
widows, are particularly exposed because of their increasing financial dependency on male family
members.
71
The occurrence of such killings can be traced back to “witchcraft statutes”. Previously part of the national
legislation of Papua New Guinea and possibly still in vigour in other countries, these statutes seem to doubt
or deny the existence of witchcraft, while recognizing that witchcraft can kill.
72
In spite of the fact that such
legislation has been repealed in recent years, popular beliefs in witchcraft remain, particularly in rural
areas. This is the case in Papua New Guinea, where all ethnic groups (approximately 800) have a system of
beliefs that account for the existence of sorcery.
73
BOX 8: Women killed because of sorcery accusations in Africa and Asia
Rate of homicide resulting from sorcery accusations, India and Papua New Guinea (2010-2016)
Source: India: National Crime Records Bureau; Papua New Guinea: Forsyth M. et al., Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence in Papua New
Guinea Part 2: Key Characteristics of Incidents, Victims and Perpetrators (Canberra, Australian National University, 2017).
Sorcery accusations affect some women living in countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania and can be the driver
behind gender-related killings. Data from Papua New Guinea and India on homicide resulting from sorcery
accusations show that, although in small proportions, this phenomenon still exists. While data are not sex
disaggregated, it is likely that women account for a large share of the victims.
9. Other forms of gender-related killings of women and girls
Although some cultural norms and practices can empower women and promote their human rights, certain
traditions and religious values can be used as a justification for violence against women.
74
Across the world,
certain cultural norms and beliefs have often been used to justify harmful practices, such as female genital
mutilation, child marriage and son preference, which result in violence against women and girls.
75
These
harmful practices perpetrated against women and girls, possibly leading to their death, represent another
form of gender-related killing. This includes female infanticide, a practice linked to sex-selective abortions.
While abortion may not be considered a crime under many jurisdictions, sex-selective abortions that favor
male babies have been labelled “femicide” in some contexts. This practice is said to occur when parents
……………..
71
Miguel, E., “Poverty and witch killing”, Review of Economic Studies, vol. 72 (2005), pp. 1153-1172.
72
Mutungi, O.K., “Witchcraft and the criminal law in East Africa”, Valparaiso University Law review, vol. 5(3), (1971), pp. 524-555.
73
Auka, R., Gore, B. and Koralyo, R.P., “Sorcery and witchcraft-related killings in Papua New Guinea: the criminal justice system
response”, Talking it Through: Responses to Sorcery and Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices in Melanesia (Canberra, Australian National
University Press, 2015).
74
Ibid.
75
See, In-depth study on all forms of violence against women, Report of the Secretary General (2006), para. 78. Available at:
www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/violenceagainstwomenstudydoc.pdf.
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.49
0.87
0.47
0.33
0.34
0.28
0.25
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Rate per 100,000 population
Sorcery accusations - India (number of cases)
Sorcery accusations - Papua New Guinea (number of victims)
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
36
attribute less worth to girls than boys after they are born, which is rooted in cultural and social practices
that are discriminatory towards women, as are inheritance laws that prevent daughters from inheriting
property in the same way that sons do.
76
Available data demonstrate that in 2012 prenatal sex selection
was present not only in countries in South and East Asia, such as China and India, but also in south-eastern
Europe and the southern Caucasus.
77
Nevertheless, countries such as South Korea have managed to
reverse the historical prevalence of this practice through a combination of socioeconomic policies centered
around women’s access to education, urbanization and instituting a national welfare system for elderly
people, who find themselves less dependent on their sons when reaching old age.
78
Killing of female sex workers
United Nations terminology surrounding prostitution includes the term “prostitute” as well as “sex
worker”. The former is used in the context of trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation; for example, in
the Protocol against Trafficking in Persons, supplementing the United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, in which one of the forms of exploitation is the exploitation of the
prostitution of others or other sexual exploitation. The latter is used in broader terms, particularly with
regard to promoting the rights of female sex workers in some Member States, or ensuring safe access to
HIV treatment.
The killing of female sex workers is another example of the homicide of women in which attitudes of
possessiveness and male superiority may play a role. Female sex workers have the highest homicide
victimization rate of any set of women ever studied.
79
Epidemiological studies based on United States data
suggest that the likelihood of active female sex workers being victimized in a homicide is almost 18 times
higher than that of women of similar age and race who do not engage in sex work.
80
Other, less
conservative estimates, point to female sex workers running a risk of being killed 60 to 120 times higher
than that of non-female sex workers.
81
It should be noted that not all homicides of sex workers are gender related; sex work often takes place in
a highly criminal environment. Research indicates that the vast majority of female sex workers are killed
by clients.
82, 83
Motives may also include disputes over the appropriate fee paid for the sexual service, hate
crime (hatred of sex workers and sexually active women)
84
and robbery.
85
Prostitution, i.e. sex work in a
narrower sense, is associated with factors that contribute to an increased risk of violent crime, including
lack of shelter, physical proximity to high crime areas, engaging in high-risk behaviors, such as sex work,
substance abuse, mental illness, and a history of previous victimization.
86
From this perspective, because
……………..
76
Preventing gender-biased sex selection: An interagency statement by OHCHR, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN-Women and WHO. 2011.
77
UNFPA, Sex Imbalances at Birth: Current trends, Consequences and Policy Implications (2012), p. 9.
78
Woojin, C. and das Gupta, M., “Why son preference is declining in South Korea? The role of development and public policy, and the
implications for China and India”, Policy Research Working Paper WPS4373, (World Bank, 2007).
79
Brewer, D. D. et al., “Extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States”, Journal of Forensic
Sciences, 51(5), (2006) pp. 1101-1108.
80
Potterat, J. J. et al., “Mortality in a long-term open cohort of prostitute women”, American Journal of Epidemiology, 159(8), (2004)
pp. 778-785.
81
Salfati, C. G., James, A. R. and Ferguson, L.., “Prostitute homicides; a descriptive study”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(4), (2008)
pp. 505-543.
82
Brewer, D. D. et al., “Extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States”, Journal of Forensic
Sciences, 51(5), (2006) pp. 1101-1108.
83
Potterat, J. J. et al., “Mortality in a long-term open cohort of prostitute women”, American Journal of Epidemiology, 159(8), (2004) pp.
778-785.
84
Salfati, C. G., James, A. R. and Ferguson, L.., “Prostitute homicides: a descriptive study”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(4), (2008)
pp. 505-543.
85
Beauregard, E. and Martineau, M., “A descriptive study of sexual homicide in Canada: Implications for police investigation”,
International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 57(12), (2013) pp. 1454-1476.
86
Quinet, K., “Prostitutes as victims of serial homicide: trends and case characteristics, 1970-2009”, Homicide Studies, 15(1), (2011)
pp. 74-100.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
37
of the nature of their work, female sex workers are more at risk of victimization than women who do not
engage in sex work.
Their high level of mobility and decreased likelihood of informing their family and friends of their
whereabouts when moving to a different location adds to the vulnerability of these women. Sex workers
are thus part of a population referred to as the “missing missing”, i.e. missing individuals who are never
reported as missing.
87
As prior research points out, this has direct consequences for the detection of such
homicides, as their disappearance is less likely to be noticed immediately and reported to the police.
88
Perhaps due to the lack of attention given to their disappearance, they constitute easier targets for serial
homicide.
89
Conservative estimates in the United States suggest that serial killers account for one third of
all homicides of female sex workers, with nearly all serial perpetrators being clients.
90
Given the marginalization of female sex workers in society, some men may find it easier to rationalize
violence against them than against women who are not sex workers.
91
Furthermore, in the eyes of a
homicide perpetrator, a sex worker’s lack of social status may make him downplay her killing and
dehumanize her.
92
Data on the killing of sex workers are not collected systematically at international level. Therefore, data
from only a handful of countries are reported here. However, these data are also likely to heavily
underreport the phenomenon because such homicides are particularly susceptible to not being reported
and being mis-reported.
In the United Kingdom, according to a report published by the House of Commons, an estimated 152 sex
workers were killed between 1990 and 2015.
93
In Colombia, a report published by the National Institute
for Legal Medicine and Forensic Science stated that 239 female sex workers were killed between 2004 and
2013.
94
In over 40 per cent of cases, the killing was committed by firearm, on a public street or highway
and the murder context revolved around an argument, vengeance or settling of scores. Over 50 per cent
of the victims were between 20 and 29 years of age, representing 119 murder cases. In Italy, data presented
in the annual parliamentary report on violence against women showed a total of 72 female sex workers
killed in the period 2009-2016.
95
……………..
87
Quinet, K.., “The Missing Missing: Toward a quantification of serial murder victimization in the United States”, Homicide Studies, 11,
(2007) pp. 319-339.
88
Beauregard, E. and Martineau, M., “A descriptive study of sexual homicide in Canada: Implications for police
investigation”, International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 57(12), (2013) pp. 1454-1476.
89
Salfati, C. G., James, A. R. and Ferguson, L.., “Prostitute homicides: a descriptive study”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(4), (2008)
pp. 505-543.
90
Brewer, D. D. et al., “Extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States”, Journal of Forensic
Sciences, 51(5), (2006) pp. 1101-1108.
91
Salfati, C. G., James, A. R. and Ferguson, L.., “Prostitute homicides: a descriptive study”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(4), (2008)
pp. 505-543.
92
Quinet, K., “Prostitutes as victims of serial homicide: trends and case characteristics, 1970-2009”, Homicide Studies, 15(1), (2011)
pp. 74-100.
93
House of Commons, Home Affairs Committee, Prostitution, Third Report of the Session 2016-2017, p. 3.
Available at https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/26/26.pdf.
94
Instituto nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses, Boletín Epidemiológico: Homicidios de Mujeres en Condición de Prostitución
Durante los Años 2004 a 2013, p. 11-14.
95
Senato della Republica, Commissione parlamentare di inchiesta sul femminicidio, nonche´ su ogni forma di violenza di genere, 18
January 2017.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
38
Perpetrators of intimate partner killings of women
and girls
Victim and perpetrator characteristics
Research shows that the killing of women and girls by intimate partners does not result from random or
spontaneous acts.
96
It is therefore useful to identify and analyse the factors that precede such killings, along
with the traits and characteristics of the perpetrators, among whom considerable gender differences exist.
For example, male and female perpetrators of intimate partner homicide seem to belong to distinct
groups,
97
not only in terms of prevalence rates, but also in terms of the motivations behind the offence:
motivations typically reported by men include possessiveness, jealousy and fear of abandonment, while
motivations reported by women relate to extended periods of suffering physical violence.
98
A recent
Australian study on intimate partner homicide concluded that the majority of such homicides (80 per cent)
involved a man killing their current or former intimate partner. Nearly a quarter of the men who killed their
intimate partner were previously identified by authorities as being violent towards them. It was also found
that almost half of the men killed their partner within three months of the relationship ending.
99
Some studies have shown that, on average, victims and offenders of intimate partner homicide are older
than victims of non-intimate partner homicide. Studies in the United States have indicated that female
victims of intimate partner violence tend to be younger than their assailants,
100
as female victims are often
in relationships with men who are older than them.
101
Couples with large age discrepancies were found to
be at a particularly high risk for this type of homicide, especially when the male partner was around 15
years older than the female partner.
102
Earlier studies have indicated that male perpetrators of intimate partner homicides in the United States
are disproportionately poor, young and members of minority ethnic groups, often with a history of violence
and substance abuse.
103
What emerges from studies that compare intimate partner homicide perpetrators to perpetrators who kill
outside the family is that intimate partner homicide offenders tend to be more “conventional” than men
who kill other men
104
and compared with the perpetrators of other types of homicide.
105
In the United
Kingdom, in a study that compared over 100 male intimate partner homicide offenders with over 400
male/male homicide perpetrators, it was found that intimate partner homicide perpetrators had achieved
a higher level of school education and maintained fuller employment than offenders of other types of
homicide.
106
Also, male intimate partner homicide offenders were found to have a lower frequency of
……………..
96
Adams, D., Why Do They Kill? Men Who Murder Their Intimate Partners (Nashville, Vanderbilt University Press, 2007).
97
Caman, S. et al., “Differentiating male and female intimate partner homicide perpetrators: a study of social, criminological and clinical
factors”, International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 15(1), (2016) pp. 26-34.
98
Belknap, J. et al., “Types of intimate partner homicides committed by women: self-defense, proxy/retaliation, and sexual
proprietariness”, Homicide Studies, 16(4), (2012) pp. 359-379.
99
Australian Domestic and Family Violence Death Review Network: Data Report 2018. Domestic Violence Death Review Team, Sydney.
100
DeJong, C., Pizarro, J. M. and McGarrell, E. F., “Can situational and structural factors differentiate between intimate partner and “other”
homicide?”, Journal of Family Violence, 26(5), (2011) pp.365-376.
101
Breitman, N., Shackelford, T. K., Block, C. R. (2004). Couple age discrepancy and risk of intimate partner homicide. Violence and Victims,
19(3), 321-342.
102
Garcia, L., Soria, C. and Hurwitz, E. L., “Homicides and intimate partner violence: a literature review”, Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 8(4),
(2007) pp. 370-383.
103
Weiner, N.A. et al., Violence: Patterns, Causes, Public Policy (Belmont, California, Wadsworth,1990).
104
Kivivuori, J. and Lehti, M., “Social correlates of intimate partner homicide in Finland: distinct or shared with other homicide types?”,
Homicide Studies, 16(1), (2012) pp. 60-77.
105
Dobash E. R. and Dobash R. P., When Men Murder Women (Oxford University Press, 2015); Weizmann-Henelius et al., “Gender-specific
risk factors for intimate partner homicide—a nationwide register-based study”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 27(8),(2012) pp.
1519-39.
106
Dobash, R. E. et al., “Not an ordinary killer—just an ordinary guy: when men murder an intimate woman partner”, Violence against
Women, 10(6), (2004) pp. 577-605.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
39
previous criminality than perpetrators of other types of homicide offenders.
107
Other studies based on data
from Finland,
108
Sweden
109
and the United Kingdom
110
seem to suggest that intimate partner homicide
perpetrators are less disadvantaged with regard to employment, accommodation and criminal history than
other types of homicide perpetrators.
111
Furthermore, intimate partner homicides are less frequently
premeditated than others.
112
It should be noted, however, that some intimate partner homicide
perpetrators are different from the general population in that they stand out in terms of social contact and
relationship problems, which often lie at the root of the lethal conflict.
113
A recent study of incarcerated male prisoners in Turkey, which sought to identify psychosocial
characteristics of “femicide” perpetrators could not uncover a specific psychopathology that could be
assigned to them.
114
Nevertheless, migration and perception of gender roles were labelled as factors that
help differentiate between men who perpetrate violence against women and those who do not. Such
findings underline the importance of understanding “femicide” as a primarily societal phenomenon, rather
than an act stemming from the individual.
115
A study in Ghana of perpetrators of intimate partner “femicide” who committed suicide after killing their
partners indicated that offenders were both of a lower socioeconomic background and, on average, older
than the victim.
116
The study, which analysed 35 reported cases of intimate partner “femicide”/suicides
that occurred between 1990 and 2009, also revealed that the mechanisms predominantly used for killing
female intimate partners involved firearms and machetes, whereas self-inflicted gunshots and hanging
were the methods most used by male perpetrators to commit suicide.
117
The male intimate partners were
prompted to commit murder due to suspicion of infidelity and sexual jealousy. Relationship termination,
divorce and estrangement were identified as other precipitating factors that led to the killing of female
intimate partners.
118
Motives of perpetrators of intimate partner killings of women and
girls
As with other types of domestic homicide, the dynamics underlying intimate partner homicides can be
better understood if differentiated according to motive.
119
Depending on the nature of the sample, prior
studies
120
have identified categories such as jealousy, fear of abandonment, battered women and severe
mental illness. In an in-depth study of 105 men who had killed an intimate partner, it was found that the
majority of male perpetrators had ongoing disputes with their partners, having subjected them to violence
……………..
107
Ibid.
108
Kivivuori, J. and Lehti, M., “Social correlates of intimate partner homicide in Finland: distinct or shared with other homicide types?”,
Homicide Studies, 16(1), (2012) pp. 60-77.
109
Caman, S. et al. “Differentiating male and female intimate partner homicide perpetrators: a study of social, criminological and clinical
factors”, International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 15(1), (2016) pp. 26-34.
110
Dobash, R. E. et al. “Not an ordinary killer—Just an ordinary guy: when men murder an intimate woman partner”, Violence against
Women, 10(6), (2004) pp. 577-605.
111
Liem, M. and Koenraadt, F., Domestic Homicide: Patterns and Dynamics (London, Routledge, 2018).
112
Leth, P. M., “Intimate partner homicide”, Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology, 5(3), (2009) pp. 199-203.
113
Dobash, R. E. et al. “Not an ordinary killer—Just an ordinary guy: when men murder an intimate woman partner”, Violence against
Women, 10(6), (2004) pp. 577-605.
114
Tosun Altinoz, S., et.al., “Femicide: Psychosocial characteristics of the perpetrators in Turkey”, International Journal of Offender
Therapy and Comparative Criminology, vol. 62(13), (2018) pp. 4174-4186.
115
Ibid.
116
Adinkrah, M., “Intimate partner femicide-suicides in Ghana: victims, offenders, and incident characteristics. Violence Against Women,
vol. 20(9), (2014) pp. 1078-1096.
117
Ibid., pp. 1078-1096.
118
Ibid., p. 1088.
119
Liem, M. and Koenraadt, F., Domestic Homicide: Patterns and Dynamics (London, Routledge, 2018).
120
Liem, M., Geene, K. and Koenraadt, F., Partnerdoding Door Etnische Minderheden: Een Empirische Studie (Amsterdam, Dutch University
Press, 2007).
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
40
prior to the killing.
121
A large share of the men interviewed also tended to blame the homicide on alcohol
intoxication and a minority blamed it on drug use. In terms of reaction to the homicide, many of the
convicted men were in complete denial straight after the event and some presented varying levels of
acceptance of the homicide with the passage of time. About half of the men who had killed their intimate
partner showed no empathy towards the victim and about a third expressed no remorse. Some refused to
acknowledge the repeated acts of physical violence that took place during the homicide incident and
claimed that the woman had simply fallen on the knife, or that the perpetrator had not realized that he
had grabbed the victim’s throat with such force that she died of suffocation. Furthermore, perpetrators
also tended to present themselves as having been victimized by their intimate partners, implying that the
homicide was actually a consequence of the abuse to which they had been subjected.
122
……………..
121
Dobash E. R. and Dobash R. P., When Men Murder Women (Oxford University Press, 2015), p. 253.
122
Dobash E. R. and Dobash R. P., When Men Murder Women (Oxford University Press, 2015).
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
41
Link between lethal and non-lethal violence against
women
As gender-related killing of women is often the culmination of prior gender-based violence, when looking
at countries with either a high or a low risk of women being killed by intimate partners or family members,
an interesting question that arises is how homicide relates to other non-lethal violence against women.
Rates of female intimate partner/family-related homicide and various forms of violence
against women, as reported in surveys and as reported to the authorities, Italy (2014)
Source: Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).
Note: Rates of physical and sexual violence and serious forms of sexual violence are per 100,000 female population aged 16-70 years.
One of the most common forms of violence against women is that perpetrated by a male intimate partner.
Intimate partner violence – often termed domestic violence – takes various forms, including physical
violence. Violence against women can be seen as a continuum,
123
ranging from slaps, punches and kicks,
to assaults with a weapon and, ultimately, homicide.
124
It could therefore be expected that the violent non-
lethal victimization of women and the killing of women manifest themselves at similar levels. To determine
this, female gender-based killings can be compared with other indicators of gender-related violence.
BOX 9:
Violence against women is widely underreported to authorities
While the killing of a person tends to be recorded by the police more effectively than other crimes, it is
well evidenced that violence against women is poorly reported to the police and that a large share of it
remains hidden. For example, the country that reported the highest rate of police-recorded sexual assault
in 2015 was Sweden, whereas only three sexual assaults were reported that year in the Republic of
Tanzania. However, victimization survey data suggest that these figures do not accurately portray the risk
to women in those countries.
125
……………..
123
Allwood, G., French Feminisms: Gender and Violence in Contemporary Theory. (London, UCL Press, 1989).
124
Watts, C., and Zimmerman, C., “Violence against women: global scope and magnitude”, The Lancet, 359(9313), (2002) pp. 1232-1237.
125
Lynch, J., “Problems and promise of victimization surveys for cross-national research”, Crime and Justice, vol. 34(1), (2006) pp. 229-287.
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
Physical and sexual
violence (lifetime) -
survey
Serious forms of sexual
violence (lifetime) -
survey
Offences related to
domestic abuse
reported to authorities
Sexual offences
reported to authorities
Intimate
partner/family-related
homicide
31500
5400
35
12.6
0.4
Rate per 100,000 female population
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
42
Violence against women is almost universally underreported,
126
irrespective of whether a country is
developed or developing. Research suggests that the reluctance of women to report domestic assault can
be attributed to fear of reprisals, economic and psychological dependence, anticipation that the police will
not take the charges seriously
127
and viewing the assault as a private matter.
128
In developing countries in particular, research has found that the most frequently mentioned reasons for
not reporting violence against women include embarrassment, the belief that reporting is pointless, the
belief that gender-related violence is a normal part of life that women must bear, and various concerns
about the well-being of others.
129
Research on reporting gender-related violence in developing countries
suggests that increasing age is associated with formal reporting, which may reflect an increase in autonomy
and a decrease in dependence on male partners over time.
Women who were formerly married have also been found to be more likely to report gender-related
violence than others, as have women in urban centres, possibly due to better access to social, legal and
health services than in rural areas.
130
The reluctance of women to report further contributes to the
underreporting of sexual violence; this has been attributed to their lack of confidence in a criminal justice
system that assigns blame to them rather than to offenders.
131
Reasons for underreporting sexual violence also include the embarrassment and stigma associated with
the crime, perceptions by victims that they will not be believed, perceptions that some incidents are not
serious enough, ambiguity about what constitutes unwanted or illicit sexual conduct and fear of reprisals
when reported.
132
Because of the challenges associated with police-recorded data, the general consensus is that population-
based victimization surveys are the best way of collecting statistical information on violence against
women.
133
Therefore, data based on surveys and police-recorded data vary substantially.
Survey data
134
on the level of violence against women reported in the United Nations report The World’s
Women 2015 show great variation. This variation can be attributed not only to differences in the level of
violence between settings, but also to differences in interviewer training and skills, cultural differences that
affect respondents’ willingness to reveal intimate experiences, and cultural definitions of violence.
135
While
these methodological limitations need to be taken into consideration, data show that the level of both
physical and sexual violence experienced by women is highest in countries in Africa, which coincides with
high overall female gender-based homicide rates. However, in the Americas, particularly in Latin America
and Caribbean, rates of female gender-related killings and female total homicide are high but the level of
violence against women, as measured in the survey data, seems to be relatively low when compared with
that in other regions.
……………..
126
Watts, C. and Zimmerman, C., “Violence against women: global scope and magnitude”, The Lancet, 359(9313), (2002) pp. 1232-1237.
127
Felson, R. B., and Paré, P. P., “The reporting of domestic violence and sexual assault by nonstrangers to the police., Journal of Marriage
and Family, 67(3), (2005) pp. 597-610.
128
Felson, R. B., et al., “Reasons for reporting and not reporting domestic violence to the police”, Criminology, 40(3), (2002) pp. 617-648.
129
Palermo, T., Bleck, J. and Peterman, A., “Tip of the iceberg: reporting and gender-based violence in developing countries.”, American
Journal of Epidemiology, 179(5), (2013) pp. 602-612.
130
Ibid.
131
Felson, R. B., and Paré, P. P., “The reporting of domestic violence and sexual assault by nonstrangers to the police”, Journal of Marriage
and Family, 67(3), (2005) pp. 597-610.
132
Ibid.
133
United Nations 2010.UNSD, The World’s Women 2010.: Trends and Statistics. (New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(ST/ESA/STAT/SER.K/19, 2010);Watts, C. and Zimmerman, C., “Violence against women: global scope and magnitude”, The Lancet,
359(9313), (2002) pp. 1232-1237.
134
Data sources compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division from Demographic and Health Surveys and Reproductive Health
Surveys (ICF International, 2014 and CDC, 2014); European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Violence Against Women: an EU-
wide Survey (2015).
135
Watts, C., and Zimmerman, C., “Violence against women: global scope and magnitude”, The Lancet, 359
(9313), (2002) pp. 1232-1237.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
43
Differences could be attributed partially to the fact that the violence against women reported in surveys
varies across cultures because women in different societies and countries have different understandings
of what constitutes “violence against women”, meaning that some women may show greater tolerance of
physical and verbal abuse, or may fail to recognize such acts as abuse altogether. Furthermore, women
from countries that have made advances in the field of women’s rights and education and the achievement
of gender equality are more likely to identify and report certain acts as violence committed against them,
be it to criminal justice authorities or during victimization surveys.
Female homicide rate (2016) and percentage of women and girls aged 15-49 who
experienced physical violence (irrespective of perpetrator) at least once in their lifetime
and in the past 12 months, Africa and Asia (1995-2013 or latest available year)
Source: Compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division from Demographic and Health Surveys; UNODC homicide statistics.
136
As with homicide in general, in countries where most women are killed by partners or other family
members, most physical and sexual violence against women is perpetrated by partners. Although the
common image of sexual violence is a violent attack by a stranger, most sexual violence is actually
perpetrated by individuals known to the victim, including intimate partners, male family members,
acquaintances and individuals in positions of authority. Although sexual assault by a stranger is widely
acknowledged to be a crime, rape in marriage, sexual coercion in schools, sex in return for a job, and forced
marriage are still tolerated or socially condoned in many parts of the world.
137
Percentage of women and girls aged 15-49 who experienced physical violence
(irrespective of perpetrator) at least once in their lifetime, selected countries in Latin
America and the Caribbean (1995-2013)
Source: Compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division from Demographic and Health Surveys.
……………..
136
UNSD, The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics, (New York, 2015), p. 143. Available at https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/
downloads/WorldsWomen2015_chapter6_t.pdf.
137
Watts, C., and Zimmerman, C., ”Violence against women: global scope and magnitude”, The Lancet, 359 (9313), (2002) pp. 1232-1237.
35.3
38.5
56.1
38.7
13.3
33.5
34.3
20.1
18.8
28.7
24
26.9
33
7.7
18.9
12.6
7.3
13.0
10.4
2.6
4.4
2.5
1.8
2.8
0.8
2.3
0.4
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Central
African
Republic
Kenya Uganda United
Republic
of
Tanzania
Azerbaijan India Jordan Philippines Tajikistan
Rate per 100,000 female population
Percentage
Physical violence - lifetime
Physical violence - past 12months
Total female homicide
19.3
19.7
27.0
28.2
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Percentage
Haiti Honduras Dominican Republic Colombia
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
44
Rate of female intimate partner/family-related homicide and percentage of ever-
partnered women and girls aged 15-49 who experienced intimate partner physical and/or
sexual violence in the previous 12 months (2016 or latest available year) and percentage
who accepted that wife-beating may be justified in certain circumstances (2010-2016),
selected countries
Source: UNICEF; UN DESA; UNODC homicide statistics.
A survey on violence against women conducted in European Union countries in 2014 showed the share of
women experiencing non-lethal physical and/or sexual violence. Direct comparisons between Europe and
other regions are difficult to make because of differences in data collection methods. Similar difficulties in
reporting physical violence are also found in reporting sexual violence, although research suggests that
rates of formal reporting are higher among women who have experienced sexual violence than those who
have experienced physical violence.
138
However, several countries seem to have relatively high levels of
physical and sexual violence against women, particularly when measuring lifetime prevalence. Moreover,
in this case, it seems that low female homicide rates do not necessarily mean that violence levels are also
low.
Rate of female intimate partner homicide/family-related homicide and percentage of
women and girls aged 15-49 who experienced physical violence (irrespective of
perpetrator) at least once in their lifetime and in the past 12 months, selected countries
in Europe (2012)
Source: UNODC homicide statistics; European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Violence Against Women: An EU-wide Survey (2014).
……………..
138
Palermo, T., Bleck, J. and Peterman, A., “Tip of the iceberg: reporting and gender-based violence in developing countries”, American
Journal of Epidemiology, 179(5), (2013) pp. 602-612.
16
7.7
14
29.6
14.1
10.2
4
7
60
70
74
49
1.9
0.9
0.2
1.8
0.6
0.6
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Dominican
Republic
Jamaica Egypt United
Republic of
Tanzania
Jordan Azerbaijan
Rate per 100,000 female population
Percentage
Physical or sexual violence Wife-beating Intimate partner/family-related homicide
17.0
19.0
30.0
43.0
33.0
25.0
30.0
19.0
41.0
21.0
20.0
4.0
5.0
7.0
9.0
7.0
8.0
5.0
4.0
9.0
3.0 3.0
0.6
0.5
0.6
1.1
0.4
0.7
1.0
0.9
0.3
0.5
0.5
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
Austria
Croatia
Czechia
Finland
Germany
Hungary
Lithuania
Malta
Netherlands
Slovenia
Spain
Rate per 100,000 female population
Percentage
Physical violence - lifetime
Physical violence - past 12 months
Intimate partner/family-related homicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
45
Available data indicate that high levels of lethal violence against women, i.e. female total homicide,
encountered in Latin America and the Caribbean are not always connected to high levels of non-lethal
violence against women. Furthermore, in Europe, low levels of lethal violence against women do not always
correspond to a low level of non-lethal violence against women.
When analysing data on female intimate partner/family-related homicide and the prevalence of intimate
partner violence, countries can be divided into groups. One group of countries has high levels of intimate
partner/family-related homicide and high levels of physical and/or sexual partner violence; examples can
be found in Africa. Another group of countries has high levels of intimate partner/family-related homicide
but low levels of physical and/or sexual partner violence; examples can be found in Latin America and the
Caribbean. A third group involves countries with low intimate partner/family-related homicide rates and
low levels of physical and/or sexual partner violence; examples can be found in Europe and Asia. The fourth
group of countries has low intimate partner/family-related homicide rates but high levels of physical
and/or sexual partner violence; examples can be found in Europe.
There may be several factors that explain the relationships between female homicide and other violence
against women, including socioeconomic and demographic factors, gender equality and the role of women
in society, as well as the quality of data.
Rate of female intimate partner/family-related homicide and percentage of women and
girls aged 15-49 who experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence in the
past 12 months, selected countries in Africa (2013 or latest available year)
Source: UN DESA and UNODC homicide statistics.
Rate of female intimate partner/family-related homicide (2016) and percentage of ever-
partnered women aged 18-74 who experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual
violence at least once in their lifetime (2012), selected countries in Europe
Source: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Violence against Women: An EU-wide Survey, (2014); UNODC homicide statistics.
14
29.6
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Egypt United Republic of
Tanzania
Rate per 100,000 female
population
Percentage
Intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence
Intimate partner/family-related homicide
21
30
22
25
23
29
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.3
0.3
0.4
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Czechia Finland Germany Netherlands Slovakia United
Kingdom
Rate per 100,000 female
population
Percentage
Physical or sexual violence
Intimate partner/family-related homicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
46
Rate of female intimate partner/family-related homicide (2015) and percentage of ever-
partnered women aged 18-74 who experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual
violence in the past 12 months (2013), selected countries in Asia
Source: UN DESA and UNODC homicide statistics.
10.2
14.1
0.56
0.56
0.57
0.57
0.58
0.58
0.59
0.59
0.60
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Rate per 100,000 female
population
Percentage
Azerbaijan Jordan
prop_VAW
Rate_IPFM
Physical or sexual violence
Intimate partner/family-related homicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
47
Criminal justice and policy responses to gender-
related killing of women and girls
In the past few decades, the high prevalence of violence against women and the damage to victims and
society have been recognized by both international and national authorities.
139
The killing of women and
violence against women in general have been addressed by an array of policies and programmes using
social, public health and criminal justice responses. Criminal justice responses have included the
development and enforcement of laws that prohibit all forms of violence against women, laws that
eliminate discrimination against women, the implementation of policies, and strengthening the capacities
of institutions.
140
Developments in the field of public policy and legislation addressing violence against
women and “femicide” are discussed below.
International responses
To gender-related killing of women and girls
On various occasions, the international community has addressed the problem of gender-related killing of
women. A Declaration on Femicide was first adopted in 2008 by the Committee of Experts to the Follow-
up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI), which states that “femicide” represents the
most severe manifestation of violence and discrimination against women in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
141
The United Nations General Assembly adopted two resolutions on gender-related killing of
women and girls, in 2013
142
and 2015,
143
encouraging Member States to adopt strategies and responses
to address violence against women and reduce the risk of gender-related killings, including the
criminalization and prosecution of gender-related violence and ensuring “that appropriate punishment for
perpetrators of gender-related killing of women and girls are in place and are proportionate to the gravity
of the offence”.
To violence against women
On the broader challenge of violence against women, a number of treaties have been adopted to protect
the right of women and girls to live a life free from all forms of violence. The Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol do not explicitly cover
matters related to violence against women, but its General Recommendation No. 35 on gender-based
violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, argues that the definition of
discrimination against women under the terms of the Convention “includes gender-based violence; that is,
violence directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately”.
144
A number of regional treaties impose legally binding obligations on ratifying States to adhere to a set of
minimum standards, in order to specifically prevent and combat violence against women: the Inter-
American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Belem
do Pará Convention); the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol); the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention).
Beyond treaties, several inter-governmental documents, standards and norms reflect the commitment of
the international community to address the problem related to violence against women, as well as gender-
……………..
139
García-Moreno, C. et al. “Addressing violence against women: a call to action”, The Lancet, 385(9978), (2015) pp. 1685-1695.
140
Ibid.
141
Declaración sobre el Femicidio, para. 1. Available at https://www.oas.org/en/mesecvi/docs/DeclaracionFemicidio-ES.pdf.
142
A/RES/68/191.
143
A/RES/70/176.
144
Available at http://undocs.org/CEDAW/C/GC/35.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
48
based violence against girls in the context of violence against children:
145
from the Beijing Declaration and
Plan of Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women
146
to a series of United Nations General
Assembly resolutions, starting with the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women
147
in
1993.
148
The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice has also adopted
decisions and resolutions on violence against women that have often culminated in General Assembly
resolutions such as General Assembly resolution 65/228, which adopted in 2010 the Updated Model
Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice.
149
These documents contain detailed provisions and practical guidance
for criminal justice systems, building upon and complementing the different legally binding treaties
mentioned above.
National responses
Criminal Justice responses
As most forms of gender-related killing of women and girls discussed in this study fall under the definition
of homicide in most countries, the criminal justice response to most gender-related killings follows the
same pattern as other homicide offences. Some countries use general criminal law provisions on homicide,
murder and manslaughter, applying harsher sentences when there are aggravating circumstances in cases
such as the killing of a spouse or the killing of a pregnant woman. Other countries have put in place
additional legislative provisions in order to prosecute gender-related killings of women and girls more
specifically. These additional provisions can be classified into two approaches:
150
1. The establishment of the specific crime of “femicide” or “feminicide”. The elements that
characterize this specific crime vary considerably across legislation. This approach has been taken
primarily in Latin American countries, where rates of gender-related killing of women and girls
are relatively high compared with those in other regions, such as Europe.
2. The inclusion of aggravating factors for homicide offences. These include objective
circumstances, such as the relationship between victim and perpetrator, and the pregnancy of
the victim, or subjective elements, i.e. hatred, prejudice or honour.
Eighteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have adopted specific laws that criminalize femicide
as an offence in their national legal frameworks.
151
The majority have introduced a new type of offence,
i.e. “femicide” or “feminicide”, whereas in two countries, Argentina and the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela, it is criminalized as a type of aggravated homicide.
152
While the majority of these femicide laws
are applicable within and outside the family sphere, in countries such as Chile and Costa Rica, they only
apply to females killed by current or former intimate partners. Other countries such as El Salvador, Mexico,
Panama and Peru have adopted legal definitions that significantly broaden the set of circumstances in
which the law is applicable. Costa Rica has also amended its legislation in recent years, extending the scope
of its femicide definition to the public sphere by adopting the term “extended femicide” (femicidio
ampliado). In terms of the applicability of these femicide laws, the elements encountered in the majority
of legal definitions are females killed by current or former intimate partners and family members. For
……………..
145
United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice, General Assembly resolution 69/194, annex, available at http://undocs.org/A/RES/69/194.
146
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Fourth World Conference on Women. Available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/
beijing/platform/.
147
A/RES/48/104.
148
For a comprehensive description of the work of the United Nations General Assembly on violence against women, see UN Women
platform. Available at: http: //www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/reports.htm.
149
A/RES 65/228.
150
UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/2.
151
The full table can be found in the Annex of this study.
152
ECLAC, “Femicide or feminicide as a specific type of crime in national legislations in Latin America: an on-going process” (July 2015).
Available at https://oig.cepal.org/sites/default/files/noteforequality_17_0.pdf .
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
49
femicide perpetrated outside the family sphere, laws capture elements that indicate the presence of sexual
violence, extreme torture and brutality associated with the killing of a woman or girl. The adoption of
specific laws does not always facilitate the prosecution of these crimes as actual gender-related killings of
women and girls, or “femicides”, because it may be challenging to identify the additional gender-related
elements that constitute the crime. Laws creating specific femicide offences typically introduce longer
prison sentences than those that are applicable to intentional homicide. Elements of extreme cruelty,
torture, prior domestic abuse and sexual violence are also captured by specific laws.
Apart from the aforementioned group of Latin American countries that have adopted legislation to
specifically prosecute gender-related killing of women, many other countries have passed national
legislation tackling violence against women, which is also applicable in instances of rape and domestic
homicide. A comparative study by UNODC showed that, in addition to creating specific criminal offences,
there are other ways of criminalizing certain aspects of gender-related killing.
153
Some countries have introduced gender-related aggravating factors for homicide and other offences. In
some cases, these provisions were formulated in a gender-neutral manner while others specifically apply
to women. Aggravating factors may include specific motives (such as bias, hate and discrimination in
relation to a person’s sex, as in Belgium, Canada and Spain, or motive of honour and custom, as in Turkey)
and factual circumstances (such as pregnancy, as in the Russian Federation and Turkey, or being the spouse
of the victim, as in Belgium, Spain and Turkey). Some States, such as Turkey and the State of Palestine, have
removed mitigating circumstances from their penal code, which used to reduce sentences for adultery or
other family circumstances. Specific provisions have also been introduced to criminalize the killing of
children, such as infanticide (for example, in Angola, Canada and Guatemala).
154
The penalty for sexual violence and rape resulting in the death of the victim may be either equal to or
greater than the penalty for simple homicide. In some countries, such as Croatia, both of these offences
are punishable by a minimum of five years of imprisonment, in Belgium by 20 to 30 years of imprisonment,
and in France by 30 years of imprisonment. In the Russian Federation, rape and violent acts of a sexual
nature resulting in the death of the victim are punishable by 12 to 20 years of imprisonment, whereas
aggravated forms of homicide are punishable by 8 to 20 years of imprisonment.
155
Examples of criminal justice responses that focus on law enforcement intervention include the Latin
American Model Protocol for the investigation of gender-related killings of women
(femicide/feminicide),
156
developed by the United Nations Human Rights Office in collaboration with UN
Women in 2014. Aimed at helping tackle the high rates of impunity for such crimes in many countries in
the region, the protocol was subsequently implemented in Argentina and Brazil.
BOX 10. Policies in response to the needs of children affected by gender-
related killing of women
The children of women killed by their partner or other family members are the other victims of these killings
because they not only lose their mother in brutal circumstances, but also their father or other close family
members. These children are left vulnerable, traumatized and often without a guardian, although
sometimes they are left in the care of grandparents or other family members. In situations where the
perpetrator is given a mild, short-term prison sentence, he may still be able to reclaim his custody rights,
unless the law specifically denies him such rights. A public discourse addressing the problem of children
left behind has emerged in countries where perpetrators are frequently given relatively mild prison
sentences for killing their female partners. Some countries have started to take a tough stance over this
……………..
153
UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/CRP.3, Criminalization of gender-related killing of women and girls.
154
UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/CRP.1, National measures taken to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish gender-related killings of
women and girls; Expert Group on gender-related killing of women and girls, Bangkok, 11-13 November 2014.
155
UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/CRP.1., National measures taken to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish gender-related killings of
women and girls; Expert Group on gender-related killing of women and girls, Bangkok, 11-13 November 2014.
156
UN Women, Latin American Model Protocol for the Investigation of Gender-related Killings of Women (femicide/feminicide (2014).
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
50
issue in order to prevent perpetrators of gender-related killing from reclaiming custody rights and
reconnecting with their children once they are out of prison. For example, Argentina adopted a law
157
in
2017, which amends the Civil and Commercial Code, removing parental authority from persons who are
found guilty in a court of law of committing aggravated homicide associated with femicide, or inflicting
injuries and sexual abuse on their children. In February 2018, the Government of Italy adopted a similar
law on the Protection of Minors Orphaned by Domestic Violence,
158
which ensures that such minors have
free access to legal aid and psychological assistance. Additionally, minors who share their family name with
the parent convicted of killing the other parent can request to have it changed. When it comes to
appointing guardians, the law gives priority to other relatives and family members.
BOX 11: Guatemala: an example of femicide law applied in Latin America
The Law against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence against Women (decree 22-2008) was approved by
the Guatemalan Congress in 2008. When applying the law in cases of murdered women, the Government
has made efforts to establish a system of specialized courts at the national level for the prosecution of
crimes related to violence against women and femicide. The judicial body in Guatemala consists of
specialized and regular courts, the latter often lacking the capacity and expertise to adopt the correct
approach and legal perspective to cases involving violence against women or femicide. While the number
of complaints relating to domestic violence brought to the Public Prosecutor’s office under this law has
increased, only a small percentage have actually resulted in sanctions.
159
A report on Jurisdictional and Penal Entities for the crime of femicide and other forms of violence against
women, sexual violence and trafficking in persons states that there were 18 specialized courts in Guatemala
and 102 regular courts.
160
Nevertheless, for justice to be dispensed and for femicide perpetrators to be
punished, the effective implementation of the law is often hampered by the lack of implementation
mechanisms and coordination between criminal justice authorities. Despite these obstacles, over the
period July 2013 to June 2014 regular courts in Guatemala passed a total of 774 sentences in cases
addressing femicide and other forms of violence against women; the number of sentences handed out by
specialized courts amounted to 1,894.
161
In 2015, authorities registered 65,620 reports of violence against
women, of which 2,565 cases resulted in a sentence.
162
Convictions for “femicide”
Data for assessing the criminal justice response to gender-related killing of women are not available at
regional or global level. Countries rarely disaggregate prosecution or conviction statistics by type of
homicide and it is difficult to quantify whether the level of convictions is an adequate response to the
problem. In El Salvador, data indicate that the gradual implementation of the law on femicide followed a
gradual increase in convictions for the same offence. While the impact of those convictions is not apparent,
it is clear that up to the conviction stage, the law seems to have provided a criminal justice response to the
problem of femicide
.
……………..
157
Available at https://www.colegio-escribanos.org.ar/index.php/2017/06/26/ley-27-363-privacion-de-responsabilidad-parental/.
158
Available at Law No. 4 of January 11, 2018, Amendments to the Civil Code, Criminal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Other
Provisions for the Benefit of Children Orphaned by Domestic Violence Crimes.
159
UN Women, Americas and the Caribbean. Available at http://lac.unwomen.org/en/donde-estamos/guatemala.
160
Organismo Judicial Guatemala C.A., Tercer Informe de los Órganos Jurisdiccionales Penales en Delitos de Femicidio y, Otras Formas de
Violencia Contra la Mujer, Violencia Sexual, Explotación y Trata de Personas (2014).
161
Ibid., p. 74.
162
MESECVI/CEVI/doc.247/17, paras. 40-41. Available at http://www.oas.org/es/mesecvi/docs/FinalReport2017-Guatemala.pdf.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
51
Trends in rates of femicide and persons accused of femicide, El Salvador (2012-2016)
Source: Femicide: El Salvador's General Prosecutor's Office, special UNODC request; Convictions: El Salvador's General Prosecutor's Office
(special UNODC request).
Trends in rates of femicide and convictions for femicide, Peru (2013-2017)
Source: ECLAC; Registro Nacional de Condenas del Peru (special UNODC request).
Beyond criminal justice: policies and practices aimed at reducing violence against
women
In Europe, “femicide” does not typically constitute a separate legal category in the criminal justice system.
Policy developments have focused on recognizing violence against women and intimate partner homicide
as serious human rights and public health issues in need of attention. Research has assessed to what extent
policy development in these areas has influenced the occurrence of intimate partner homicide in 10
European countries (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
and the United Kingdom). Based on the period when action on domestic violence and intimate partner
violence was developed by their Government, the countries were categorized as: “early bird countries”,
which have been developing government action since the mid-1970s/early 1980s (the Netherlands,
Sweden and United Kingdom); “intermediate countries”, which have been developing government action
since the late 1980s/early 1990s (Finland, France, Germany and Spain); and “newcomer countries”, which
have been developing government action since the mid-1990s (Italy, Portugal and Slovenia). No direct link
was found between the prevalence of intimate partner homicide among female homicides and the
development of policies on intimate partner violence. However, a link was established between policy
provision and the availability of routine statistics on male-perpetrated and female-perpetrated intimate
partner homicide.
163
……………..
163
Corradi, C., and Stöckl, H., “Intimate partner homicide in 10 European countries: Statistical data and policy development in a cross-
national perspective”, European Journal of Criminology, 11(5), (2014) pp. 601-618.
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Index
Index femicide
Index accused
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Index
Index femicide
Index convictions
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
52
Examples
164
of national practices aimed at reducing violence against women can be roughly divided into
three areas: the implementation of legal changes; early interventions; and multi-agency efforts (creating
special units or specialized expertise within the police, prosecution and courts, and training of criminal
justice officials in charge of investigation and prosecution).
Legalchanges
Armenia is one of numerous countries that recently (2017) implemented legal changes in their Criminal
Code to specifically cover violence against women.
165
The Law on Prevention of Violence within the Family
and Restoration of Harmony in the Family seeks to set forth legal mechanisms to prevent violence within
the family, ensure safety and protection of the victims of violence within the family, and guarantee their
rights and legitimate interests. Specifically, the law details domestic violence as acts of physical, sexual,
psychological, economic violence and negligence. Furthermore, these legal changes prescribe measures for
protecting victims of domestic violence, including warning the perpetrator, decision-making for an
emergency intervention, and protective measures.
This timeframe mirrors implementations in 2017 in Russia, where the National Strategy for Action in the
Interests of Women
166
was established to prevent social hardship among, and violence against, women.
This includes information and guidance materials on preventing violence against women, for the use of
training law enforcement officials, health professionals and psychologists who provide assistance to
women in crisis situations.
Other examples of legal changes can be found in Turkey, where the Convention on Preventing and
Combating Violence against Women and Domestic violence has become a part of Turkish domestic law.
167
Since the implementation of the Convention in 2012, Turkey has reported a systematic increase each year
in the number of reported violent incidents to the police. Furthermore, three specific actions were
associated with the implementation of domestic violence law. The first consisted of the implementation of
electronic bracelets for individuals known to resort to violence, in order to prevent them from coming into
the proximity of victims. The second involved training personnel involved in countering domestic violence
and violence against women. The third initiative, launched in 2018, included the creation of a smartphone
application allowing women at risk of violence to share their location information with emergency centers
and police.
Around the same time, in 2013, Tajikistan implemented a specific law on domestic violence, aimed at
prevention of violence against women and minors.
168
In line with legal changes, government-led actions
included seminars and trainings. Further related activities entailed creating awareness of domestic violence
through television programmes and publications in magazines and booklets.
Similarly, in Morocco in 2014, legal changes were made in the Criminal Code to include laws aimed at
tackling violence against women.
169
The implementation of the changes was accompanied by several
initiatives, which included training police officers how to obtain testimonies from women affected by
violence, the establishment of units to assist women through psychological counselling, and mandating
specific persons to interrogate women.
Legal changes have also been implemented in Chile, where the Chilean Criminal Code
170
now specifies
homicide in the context of domestic violence, and includes – in addition to the killing of parents and
children – the killing of women as a separate legal category. Such legal changes not only allow for improving
the work of officials and prosecutors in investigating and protecting victims of these crimes, but also enable
……………..
164
In preparation of the Global Study on Homicide 2018 (of which this documentstudy is part), in April 2018 UNODC asked countries to
submit examples of best practices to reduce homicide. The practices summarized here are those that countries submitted in relation to
violence against women.
165
Chapter 20 of the Criminal Code, articles 165 to 174.
166
Government Order 410 (March 8, 2017) and Government Order 420 (March 14, 2018).
167
Article 90 of the Constitution; 6284 Numbered Law on the Prevention of Family and Preventing Violence against Women.
168
Law of the Republic of Tajikistan ‘On Prevention of Domestic Violence’, dated 19.03.2013.
169
Article 103.13 of the Moroccan Criminal Code.
170
Articles 390, 394, 372 and 391 of the Chilean Criminal Code in relation to the Domestic Violence Act (Act No. 20066).
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
53
improved recording of gender-based homicides. In Chile, the recording of these crimes has been further
enhanced through the establishment (in 2017) of an observatory on gender-based violence. With better
recording of gender-based homicides, the observatory seeks to analyse manifestations of gender-based
violence and raise awareness of them.
EarlyInterventions
A second type of practice addressing violence against women includes early intervention. An example of
such practices can be found in the Bahamas, where the Healthy Teen Relationship Campaign sought to
educate young people on teen relationship abuse. The campaign was initially designed for high school
students but was extended to primary school students. The campaign was aimed at helping youth recognize
possessiveness, jealousy and controlling behaviours in intimate relationships, and create awareness of
forced sex, verbal and emotional abuse, and physical violence among teenage relationships. Moreover,
teens were given the possibility to reach out to teachers, guidance counsellors and a crisis centre helpline.
With this multi-agency effort (partnering with the Ministries of Social Services and Education, social clubs
and civil society organizations), the campaign was part of a larger programme aimed at reducing the
prevalence of domestic violence.
Multi‐agencyefforts
One of the countries introducing multi-directional approaches to address violence against women includes
the Republic of Moldova, which, after approving a law
171
on the prevention and combating of domestic
violence in 2007, started several initiatives in this area. These initiatives included the possibility of police
personnel applying emergency restraining orders as temporary measures to protect victims of domestic
violence, the establishment of a free telephone support service providing 24/7 counselling to callers, and
the raising of public awareness of domestic violence. The latter materialized through a campaign entitled
“Preventing Violence through Art”, as well as through training community police officers, criminal
prosecutors, social workers and family doctors. Other initiatives that were launched simultaneously
included: the distribution of a practical guide for police officers on effective police interventions in cases of
domestic violence; a concert series drawing attention to domestic violence; the organization of public
meetings to inform citizens about the phenomenon of family violence and about existing legal frameworks
for prevention; contact with authorities and legal advice. In 2017, these initiatives were supplemented with
a social network video entitled “What to do if you are a victim of domestic violence”, detailing instructions
and measures for victims of domestic violence.
Another example of similar multi-lateral and multi-agency efforts can be found in Lithuania. After the
implementation of the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence in 2011, three specific measures were
implemented aimed at reducing domestic violence. The first included the establishment of Specialized
Assisted Centres that provide specialized integrated assistance to victims of violence. Specifically, this
entails providing advice to victims faced with domestic violence, providing help by mediation and
representation in other institutions, offering psychological and legal support, and helping to rebuild
interpersonal ties with family members. Victims are put in contact with the centres by police after having
reported being a victim of domestic violence. A second measure included a National Programme for the
Prevention of Domestic Violence, which entails competence building of specialists through the organization
of training, improvement of the system for imposing sanctions on convicted abusers, support for
organizations working with abusers and storing and systemizing data (including administering a
representative population survey) on domestic violence. A third measure consisted of raising public
awareness of domestic violence through the “16 Days without Violence” campaign, in which citizens were
familiarized with various manifestations of domestic violence, its consequences, legal outcomes and
liability, and victims were informed about how to get assistance when confronted with domestic violence.
A third example of a country that has introduced multi-agency efforts to reduce violence against women is
Montenegro, which recently (2018) established an “Operational Team” to target poor links in the chain of
acting institutions when dealing with domestic violence cases. The team consists of 19 members from
……………..
171
Law number 45 of March 1, 2007; article 8 paragraph, para. 6.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
54
various agencies, including representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Police Directorate, the
Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Health, the High Court for Misdemeanors, the
Supreme Court, the Prosecutor's Office, the Council for Civil Control of the Police, and representatives of
five non-governmental organizations dealing with the protection of the victims of violence. The team acts
as a coordinating body that aims to solve problems in the domestic violence chain by promoting guidelines
and initiatives.
Creatingspecialunitsorexpertisewithinthepolice,prosecutionandcourts
Some counties have established special units within the police for dealing exclusively with offences related
to: domestic violence (Bosnia and Herzegovina); hate crime (Canada); violence and victim protection (Italy);
and violence against women and children (Japan and the State of Palestine).
172
Some countries also provide
special expertise within the prosecution service, this being the case of Sweden with regard to cases
concerning violence in close relationships.
173
Jordan has established special units within its judiciary to
address cases relating to honour-based crimes.
174
Trainingofcriminaljusticeofficialsinchargeofinvestigationandprosecution
In Finland, police and prosecutors have received training for technical or tactical investigation concerning
homicide or other violent crimes. The Angolan police (General Command of the National Police) have
carried out awareness-raising efforts among police units for increasing capacity and skills required in
situations of domestic and gender-based violence.
175
In Turkey, judges and prosecutors have participated
in study visits and training workshops on domestic violence and violence against women.
176
……………..
172
UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/CRP.1, para. 61.
173
Ibid., para. 72.
174
Ibid., para. 73.
175
Ibid., para. 74.
176
Ibid., para. 82.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
55
Conclusions and Policy Implications
As the evidence provided in the study shows, even though men are the principal victims of lethal violence,
women continue to bear the heaviest burden as a result of gender stereotypes and inequality. Across the
world, in rich and poor countries, in developed and developing regions, a total of 50,000 women per year
are killed by their current and former partners, fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters and other family
members because of their role and status as women.
Tangible progress in both protecting and saving the lives of female victims of intimate partner/family-
related homicide has not been made in recent years, despite the many programmes developed to eradicate
violence against women and the amount of legislation adopted. Many women still find themselves alone,
not only in the face of violence in their home but also of criminal justice systems that fail to respond
adequately or do not have the capacity and knowledge to do so.
The killing of women by their partner is often the culmination of long-term violence and can be prevented.
Local, national and international institutions need to scale up their efforts to help and protect women who
fall victim to such violence. The development and effective implementation of national strategies to
combat gender-based violence and legislation to address domestic violence, sexual harassment and marital
rape can provide the tools to build a protective system and can ensure that there is no impunity for such
crimes.
Women need access to a comprehensive range of services provided by the police and justice system, health
and social services, which need to be coordinated to be effective. Women also need access to specific
measures that enable them to leave a violent relationship. Such measures have to take into account the
fact that women are often economically dependent on their intimate partner, and are thus at risk of being
deprived of their only source of economic support should their partner turn against them and be convicted
or imprisoned. Specialized support services for women, which include shelter, protection orders,
counselling and legal aid, have been shown to be effective in helping women to leave abusive relationships.
Another crucial aspect to addressing the problem is the involvement of men in combating intimate partner
violence/family-related killings and developing cultural norms that move away from violent masculinity
and gender stereotypes. Since men account for half of the world’s population, effective interventions need
to engage them in order to address the underlying discriminatory social norms that legitimize male power,
control and use of violence. As recommended by UN Women, good practices for working with men and
boys to end violence against women include: promoting a human rights-based and gender-responsive
approach; basing programmes around a conceptual framework on men, masculinities and gender relations;
making an explicit effort within programmes to discuss gender and masculinity and to transform gender
norms; understanding the diversity of the experiences of men and boys, and tailoring initiatives
appropriately; engaging men as part of the solution; questioning existing gender roles without imposing
particular behaviours; promoting change beyond the individual level at the society and community level;
and holding men accountable for their actions. Early education for boys and girls that promotes gender
equality and helps break the negative effects of stereotypical gender roles is also an effective prevention
policy.
It is important that programmes and strategies aimed at combating violence against women include
provisions related to extreme forms of violence such as gender-related killing of women. The Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) reports should cover gender-
related killings in the context of violence against women. In conflict and post-conflict situations, the risk of
women being affected by extreme gender-based violence increases because of the overall violent
environment. Therefore, National Action Plans on UNSCR 1325, on the Women, Peace and Security agenda,
should include specific provisions on gender-related killings in sections covering prevention and protection.
Standardized data on gender-related killings of women and girls remain patchy and of insufficient quality
to monitor trends and understand the scale of the problem. Implementation of the International
Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS) enables countries to develop a standardized and
sustainable way of recording the gender-based dimension of all offences and facilitates the measurement
of violence against women and girls. Among its many features, the ICCS defines a standard framework for
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
56
recording the gender characteristics of victims and perpetrators in relation to all crimes, including
homicide. It can therefore add value to collected data, allowing for a more thorough, in-depth analysis, as
well as a comparable system of data collection across countries for gender-related killings of women and
girls.
Effective crime prevention and criminal justice responses to violence against women are human rights-
based, manage risk and promote victim safety and empowerment while ensuring offender accountability.
They not only include comprehensive laws and policies that eliminate discriminatory provisions and
prohibit and criminalize all forms of violence against women, but also mechanisms for coordination
between criminal justice agencies and with the social, health and other sectors. They also include
specialized expertise and adequate capacity of police, prosecutors, judges and other justice officials, in
order to increase the likelihood of successful apprehension, prosecution and conviction of the offender,
contribute to the well-being and safety of women and prevent secondary victimization. Gender-sensitive
approaches that are women-centred rather than considering women as objects of protection and sources
of evidence are more likely to build confidence and trust in criminal justice institutions and increase the
number of women reporting violence and of perpetrators brought to justice.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
57
Annex
The table below gives an overview of the countries that have adopted specific legislation to criminalize
femicide, indicating which offences are counted as femicide, according to legal definitions included in their
penal codes:
177
Country Femicide
Law
What is counted
as femicide
Offence
1. Argentina (2012) Law 26.791 - Killing of a woman by a family member
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman because of her sexual
and gender identity
- Killing of a woman for pleasure, greed,
racial or religious hatred
- Killing of a woman by a man in the
context of gender-based violence
- Aggravated
homicide
2. Bolivia
(Plurinational
State of) (2013)
Law N°348
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman because she refused
to initiate an intimate relationship with
the perpetrator
- Killing of a pregnant woman
- Killing of a woman when there was a
relationship of subordination or
dependency with the perpetrator, or a
relationship based on friendship or
related to the working environment.
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence prior to the killing
- Killing of a woman in the context of
trafficking in persons
- Killing of a woman who is in a
vulnerable situation
- Killing of a woman previously subjected
to physical, psychological, sexual or
economic violence by the same
perpetrator
- Feminicide
3. Brazil (2015)
Law 13.104 and “Maria
da Penha” Law (2006)
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman by a family member
- Feminicide
4. Chile (2010) Law 20. 480
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner (in its Criminal
- Femicide
……………..
177
Further information about countries that have adopted specific laws to criminalize gender-related killing of women and girls can be
found at: UNODC/CCPCJ/EG.8/2014/CRP.3, Criminalization of gender-related killing of women and girls (2014).
Available at https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/IEGM_GRK_BKK/UNODC.CCPCJ.EG.8.2014.CRP.3.pdf
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
58
Country Femicide
Law
What is counted
as femicide
Offence
Code, Chile also has the offence of
parricide which covers other family-
related homicide)
5. Colombia (2015) Rosa Elvira Cely Law - Killing of a woman by family members
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman by a friend or
colleague, when a cycle of physical,
sexual or psychological violence
preceded the killing
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence and/or bodily mutilation prior
to the killing
- Feminicide
6. Costa Rica (2007) Law N°8.589
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Subsequently Costa Rica also included
the term “extended femicide” (femicidio
ampliado) in its legislation, which
broadens its scope, making it applicable
to cases occurring outside the intimate
partner sphere.
178
New situations covered:
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence prior to the killing
- Violent/brutal killings of women
- Femicide
7. Dominican
Republic (2014)
Law 550-14 enacted to
the Criminal Code of
the Dominican
Republic
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Feminicide
8. Ecuador (2014)
Organic Integral Penal
Code
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman by family members
or other persons such as friends,
colleagues, class mates, or any other
persons who had a relationship based
on trust, superiority or subordination
with the female victim
- Killing of a woman in the presence of
her children or other family members
- Killing of a woman whose body was
disposed of or thrown away in a public
space
- Femicide
……………..
178
Available at https://observatoriodegenero.poder-judicial.go.cr/soy-especialista-y-busco/estadisticas/femicidio/.
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
59
Country Femicide
Law
What is counted
as femicide
Offence
9. El Salvador (2011) Decree 520
Simple femicide:
- Killing of a woman after violence was
committed by the perpetrator
- Killing of a woman when the
perpetrator took advantage of her
situation of physical or psychological
vulnerability
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence and/or bodily mutilation prior
to the killing
- Aggravated femicide:
- Killing of a woman by a state official or
any other person acting as an agent of
the state or public authority
- Killing of a woman by more than two
persons
- Killing of a woman within the family
- Killing of a minor woman (under 18
years of age) or of an older woman
- Killing of a woman with a physical or
mental disability
- Killing of a woman by a perpetrator who
committed the crime in the context of a
relationship of trust, friendship, or a
relationship related to the domestic,
educational or work sphere.
- Feminicide
(aggravated and
simple)
10. Guatemala
(2008)
- Decree 22-2008 - Killing of a woman by a family member
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence and/or bodily mutilation prior
to the killing
- Killing of a woman in the presence of
her children
- Femicide
11. Honduras (2013) - Decree 23-2013
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman by a family member
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence and/or bodily mutilation prior
to the killing
- Femicide
12. Mexico (2012)
Decree that reforms
and adds different
dispositions to the
Federal Penal Code, of
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence and/or bodily mutilation prior
- Feminicide
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
60
Country Femicide
Law
What is counted
as femicide
Offence
the General Law for
Women’s Access to a
Life Free from
Violence, the Organic
Law of Federal Public
Administration and the
Organic Law of the
Republic’s Attorney
General’s Office
to the killing, including acts of
necrophilia
- Killing of a woman in the context of
family violence
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman whose deceased
body was disposed of or exhibited in a
public space
13. Nicaragua (2012) Law N°779 - Killing of a woman by a family member
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman by groups such as
gangs
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence and/or bodily mutilation prior
to the killing
- Killing of a woman in the presence of
her children
- Femicide
14. Panama (2013) Law 82
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman by a family member
- Killing of a woman when there is a
relationship of subordination or
dependency with the perpetrator
- Killing of a woman in the presence of
her children
- Killing of a pregnant woman
- Killing of a woman in a situation of
physical or psychological vulnerability
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence and/or bodily mutilation prior
to the killing
- Killing of a woman whose body was
disposed of or thrown away in a public
space
- Killing of a woman as a result of group
rites or revenge
- Femicide
15. Paraguay (2016) Law 5.777
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman by a family member
- Killing of a woman after a cycle of
physical, sexual or psychological
- Feminicide as a
form of
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
61
Country Femicide
Law
What is counted
as femicide
Offence
violence (irrespective if the abuse was
previously reported or not)
- Killing of a woman when she was in a
situation of physical or psychological
vulnerability
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence prior to the killing
- Killing of a woman motivated by her
refusal to initiate or reinitiate an
intimate relationship with the
perpetrator
aggravated
homicide
179
16. Peru (2013) Law N° 30.068 - Killing of a woman by a family member
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman as a result of sexual
harassment
- Killing of a minor woman
- Killing of a pregnant woman
- Killing of a woman by her guardian or
someone responsible for her safety and
well-being
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence and/or bodily mutilation prior
to the killing
- Killing of a woman with any kind of
disability when the crime was
committed
- Killing of a woman for the purpose of
trafficking in persons
- Feminicide
17. Uruguay (2017)
Law 19.580 (Law on
Gender based violence
against women),
19.538 (amending the
Criminal Code)
- Killing of a woman by a current or
former intimate partner
- Killing of a woman by a family member
- Killing of a woman subjected to sexual
violence prior to the killing
- Killing of a woman after a cycle of
physical, sexual or psychological
violence (irrespective of whether the
abuse was previously reported or not)
- Feminicide as a
form of
aggravated
homicide
180
……………..
179
Available at https://www.pj.gov.py/images/contenido/secretariadegenero/observatorio/femenicidio-en-py.pdf .
180
Available at https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/19580-2017 .
Gender‐relatedkillingofwomenandgirls
62
Country Femicide
Law
What is counted
as femicide
Offence
18. Venezuela
(Bolivarian
Republic of)
(2007)
Organic Law on
women’s right to a life
free from violence
- Law criminalizes different forms of
violence against women, but not the
crime of femicide per se
- The law makes an amendment to the
Criminal Code, applicable to the crime
of “intentional homicide” when this is
committed by a current or former
intimate partner, which is considered an
aggravating circumstance
- Aggravated
homicide
