The Netherlands is often considered a model country in terms of gender equality. Yet the Netherlands fails to gain a better perspective on the most extreme form of gender-based violence: femicide. What are other countries doing better?
The Netherlands is often considered a model country in terms of gender equality. Yet the Netherlands fails to gain a better perspective on the most extreme form of gender-based violence: femicide. What are other countries doing better?
In 2021, around 45,000 women and girls worldwide were murdered by a (former) partner or family member. Femicide also remains a problem in the Netherlands. Every year, over 40 women still lose their lives due to (ex)partner murder. In this article, we share some best practices from Sweden, Serbia and Spain. The governments of these three countries recognise femicide and have multi-year action plans in line with the Istanbul Convention. How effective are these countries' policies? We looked into it for you based on advice from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), among others.
"Good policies need high-quality data that is based on agreed and clear definitions, recognised variables and common units of measurement and indicators."
Best practices from Sweden, Serbia and Spain
Sweden
Sweden has a national strategy for preventing and combating violence against women [nationell strategi för att förebygga och bekämpa mäns våld mot kvinnor [PDF]]. The country emphasises men. Programmes such as Mentors in Violence Prevention and MÄN increase knowledge about effective violence prevention and promote gender equality. In addition, Sweden is working to establish a national centre of excellence for violence prevention and treatment of perpetrators of violence. There is also a focus on spotting partner violence. In Sweden, knowledge about violence against women and violence in (ex-)partner relationships should be part of dental education, among other things. Dentists and other professionals can pick up signals and take appropriate action if necessary.
Sweden has an extensive system of shelters, helplines and specialised centres to support victims, such as Kvinnofridslinjen. In addition to direct help for victims of violence, there is also support for their families and guidance for professionals in the field. Sweden thus meets Council of Europe standards for national helplines for women.
TIP! Inget att vänta på (Nothing to wait for) is a Swedish handbook that brings together knowledge on violence, gender and prevention in one place. It offers concrete guidelines for implementing systematic and knowledge-based violence prevention work in 5 steps. Summary in English
Serbia
Serbia has developed a strategy for preventing and combating domestic and gender-based violence[Стратегија за спречавање и борбу против родно заснованог насиља према женама и насиља у породици за период 2021-2025. године] The country is working on awareness and responsible reporting. Media guidelines [PDF] have been drafted to improve reporting on gender-based violence and minimise the traumatisation of victims. In addition, Serbia, Albania and Montenegro have launched an interactive map to map femicides, which could be a model for future initiatives in the Western Balkans.
Spain
Spain has implemented a State Strategy to combat violence against women [Estrategia estatal para combatir las violencias machistas 2022 - 2025 [PDF]]. The country is a forerunner in femicide registration and data collection. Spain has a comprehensive classification of femicide, including 5 different categories. With this, Spain records and disseminates official statistics on these different forms of femicide.
The five categories of femicide in Spain
(Ex-)partner femicide: Murder of a woman by the partner or ex-partner
Family femicide: Murder of a woman by male relatives, e.g. honour killings
Sexual femicide: Murder of non-partnered, unrelated woman linked to sexual violence, e.g. related to human trafficking
Social femicide: Murder of a woman or girl following a non-sexual assault by an unpartnered, non-family man (stranger, colleague, neighbour, friend, etc.)
Vicarious femicide: Murder of an adult woman by a man as a tool to cause harm or injury to another woman
Source: Estrategia estatal para combatir las violencias machistas 2022 - 2025 [PDF]
Information on history of abuse
Spain recently approved a special protocol that gives the national police the power to inform women about the history of abuse by their intimate partners, giving victims valuable information to make decisions about their safety.
Recommendations to the cabinet
The Dutch cabinet can draw the following lessons from policies against femicide in Sweden, Serbia and Spain:
Explicitly recognise femicide
Develop national definitions for femicide, including subcategories. This is important for collecting statistics on the specific circumstances and contexts in which women are killed. Statistics from Spain show that 5 clear femicide categories provide insights.Collect contextual data on gender-based violence
Identify patterns and risk factors by systematically collecting contextual data on incidents, victims, perpetrators and other relevant data. The interactive map of femicides in Serbia, Albania and Montenegro contributes to contextual data collection and analysis.Ensure access to support and resources for victims and perpetrators
Victims of violence should have access to shelters, psychological support and legal advice. Engaging perpetrators and promoting positive masculinity is also important to prevent violence. Sweden offers support to both victims and perpetrators through a comprehensive system of shelters, helplines and specialised centres.Increase awareness and improve education in schools about gender-based violence
Develop campaigns and educational programmes that promote gender equality, break gender stereotypes and encourage respectful relationships. Good examples are projects in Sweden, where programmes such as Mentors in Violence Prevention and MÄN focus on engaging men and boys in changing norms that promote violence against women.Implement media guidelines on reporting on gender-based violence and femicide
Develop and implement guidelines to improve the quality of reporting on gender-based violence and minimise the traumatisation of victims through public exposure. Media guidelines in Serbia show how reporting on gender-based violence can be done more carefully.
Inclusive language
In this article, the words women and girls refer to individuals who identify as women, regardless of whether this was attributed to them at birth.
Do you or are you someone in an unsafe situation?
If in doubt, also check out:
slachtofferwijzer.nl, to learn more about different forms of violence and how to act (as a loved one)
safewomen.nl, an online resource for women who have experienced partner violence
veiligthuis.nl, the advice and reporting centre for domestic violence
