Femicide. What exactly is it? What do we know about its numbers? And how is it being addressed now? In 2022, 48 women were murdered in the Netherlands, up from 38 in 2021 (CBS figures). These murders have one thing in common: they often have gender as a motive. You can read more about the problem of femicide in this article.
Femicide. What exactly is it? What do we know about its numbers? And how is it being addressed now? In 2022, 48 women were murdered in the Netherlands, up from 38 in 2021 (CBS figures). These murders have one thing in common: they often have gender as a motive. You can read more about the problem of femicide in this article.
Femicide is often used as a synonym for femicide. The term 'femicide' encompasses any murder of a woman. But the term 'femicide' puts the focus on the motives behind these murders. They are gender-related. Therefore, not all murders of women are cases of femicide. There is no consensus yet on the exact meaning of the term.
Definitions
Several researchers and institutes are trying to define the underlying motives of murders of women. Many articles refer to US researcher, former professor and activist Dr Diana E. H. Russell as the first user of the term femicide in a feminist context. She did so at the first International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women in 1976. This was a meeting in which crimes against women were charted for the first time. Russell used the following definition: "femicide, the killing of females by males because they are female."
She based this definition on the unpublished work of Carol Orlock. When Russell first heard the term, she immediately saw its value. In a 2011 video, the American feminist reasons that the origin and use of the term is essential. A life-threatening danger like femicide requires language. Yet Russell's definition does not fully cover it. Surely not only men can harbour misogyny? The United Nations defines the term as "gender-related killings of women and girls".
Murder of a woman because of her gender
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) argue that femicide is about killing a woman because of her gender, i.e. because of the fact that she goes through life as a woman. EIGE argues that a clear definition is needed in order to map the scale. Only clear language can create laws to specifically combat femicide. There is no consensus on this yet in Europe.
The different forms of femicide
The run-up to femicide has patterns and risk factors, but each case of femicide has a personal story. For instance, the motives and forms of violence vary. Victims' backgrounds are also different. Femicide knows no origin, social class or religion. It occurs in all strata of society.
Translation white sign: 'I am shouting today, because if I am not here tomorrow, I want them to shout for me'.
How common is femicide?
A research report on femicide by UN Women and UNODC shows that in 2021, more than five women and (young) girls worldwide were murdered by a family member or (ex-)partner. Not per week or day, but per hour. The idea prevails that femicide only occurs in countries like Argentina, Spain and Italy. Demonstrators there take to the streets en masse, because the number of women losing their lives to violence is high. Yet the Netherlands has more victims per capita than Italy, for example. CBS keeps public data on murder and manslaughter in the Netherlands. This shows that in 60% of women murdered in the Netherlands between 2017 and 2021, the (suspected) perpetrator was the (former) partner. For men, this was 5%. Other parties charting these figures are Elsevier and the Dutch Homocide Monitor. These data are in limited public domain.
'Dark number'
It is important to dwell on the 'dark number'. In other words, the unrecorded data on crimes. For instance, not every crime is reported or the context, or the relationship of the victim to the offender, of every case is investigated. And not every offender is traced. In addition, not everyone is registered as a (former) partner with the civil registry (data used by CBS and thus Eurostat to categorise offenders and victims). And persons in vulnerable situations are not always in possession of Dutch identity. Only by gathering more information about the perpetrators, victims and the context will we learn more about the motives behind the murder of women. That helps to make more targeted policies and intervene in time to prevent femicide.
A cause of femicide: breaking expectations
Women in our society face different expectations about their behaviour from men. Caring, sweet and accommodating: this is how a woman is 'supposed' to be. Men are expected to be the opposite of women. Strong, cool and dominant. But by no means everyone recognises themselves in this image. A woman who takes matters into her own hands, for instance by raising her voice or breaking off a relationship, goes against the norm. A (former) partner or family member who wants to keep this woman under his thumb, in line with the male norm, thus loses control. Resulting in jealousy, anger or even aggression.
This violence exposes underlying gender roles and power relations. The fact sheet Gendernormen en geweld onder jongeren (2020) by Atria and Rutgers shows that 13% of the boys surveyed feel that hitting his girlfriend is sometimes necessary to command respect. 4% of surveyed girls agree. Rigid conceptions of masculinity and femininity, so-called gender norms, play a crucial role in the emergence of this violence. Aggression is thus not only a problem of yesterday and today, but also for the future.
Domestic violence
Women in the Netherlands are most often killed by (ex-)partner homicide. Many cases of (ex-)partner killing are preceded by violence. For example, in the form of threats and stalking. For example, Natalie (35) received 44 threats from her partner before he did the deed. The ex-partner of Rachel (30) installed spyware on her phone, keeping an eye on her. Femicide is also often preceded by domestic violence, harassment or sexual assault. Yet we hear little about this. Many women are afraid to talk about it if they are in an abusive relationship.
"There is a lot of shame among women."
The taboo prevails that you have to be weak and stupid to be stuck in an abusive relationship, but that is not so. A toxic relationship can happen to anyone. That is why we need to make domestic violence discussable. In this way, we will hopefully prevent violence 'behind closed doors' from killing more women.Partner violence, by the way, is not the only risk factor of femicide. Financial insecurity, emotional dependence and pregnancy, for example, also play a role.
How do we tackle femicide?
The problem is not new, even if more and more media are highlighting femicide in recent years. Usually, the media does not acknowledge the pattern of violence. Women lose their lives because of the same problem, but terms such as 'crime of passion', 'conflict in the relational sphere' or 'family drama' quickly underestimate the scale of the problem. Several researchers and institutes now argue that it is important to:
To acknowledge
To put it on the agenda
To investigate further, especially in the Dutch context
To make it discussable in educational organisations, among health professionals and within police and judiciary
Learn from approaches in other countries
About femicide & Atria
Atria conducts research into sexual violence and ex-partner violence (within the alliance Act4Respect). With the aim of preventing these forms of gender-based violence. Currently, little research has been done on femicide in the Netherlands.
