Femicide

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Femicide tragically robs a girl or woman of life. In
addition to the nality of this cruel and intentional
act, many girls and women experience multiple acts
of violence, degradation, psychological and physical
isolation, fear, and terror in the hours, months or years
before they are killed. Their experience is one of
profound suffering; then they are forever silenced and
forever lost.
The suffering does not end with the femicide of an
individual woman or girl. Women live their lives
in relationship with others. They are daughters,
mothers, partners, sisters, friends, coworkers, and
neighbours. Femicide causes immeasurable loss and
suffering for those who laughed with, loved, cared
for and relied on their relationship with this woman.
In some situations, families and friends do not know
the fate of their loved one who is missing or do not
have their loved one’s body to honour through their
preferred death and burial customs. Loss, traumatic
grief, poor health, compromised functioning at school
or work, and loss of income are some of the impacts
experienced by those affected by the murder of a
woman or girl close to them.
In addition, femicide has an impact on all women and
girls, not just those personally impacted by a death.
“Women learn that there is a series of boundaries in
the physical and social worlds which they must not
cross if they wish to remain safe”5. By adulthood, the
impact of the possibility of violence against women is
notable:
• about two-thirds of Canadian women (64%) report
feeling worried while waiting for public transit
alone at night, while only 29% of men share this
concern;
• 41% of women, but only 12% of men, expressed
fear of walking at night in their neighbourhood6.
In this way, the prospect or possibility of gender-based
violence alone impacts the activities, choices and
concerns of all women.
Femicide also harms communities and society as
a whole. Gender expectations and gender-based
violence violate the rights and limit the opportunities
available to fully one-half of our population – that is
women and girls. The continuum of violence against
women prevents girls and women from reaching
their potential and from contributing to the familial,
social and economic well-being of themselves and
their communities. This very real loss affects every
member of society.
Femicide is the intentional killing of women and girls
because they are women and girls1.
Femicide is a human rights violation and a crime
against humanity. Yet, this global health and human
rights concern often goes unpunished.
We use the term femicide in this newsletter. Unlike
the gender-neutral terms murder and homicide,
femicide conveys the “misognynistic and sexist
motivation” behind much of the killing of women
and girls2. For example, men that kill women may
be “motivated by the socially constructed right to
do so, their superiority over females, pleasure or
sadistic desires towards women, or the assumption of
ownership over women.”3
Women’s male partners are the most frequent
perpetrators of femicides. Other perpetrators include
other family members, friends, acquaintances, johns,
colleagues, and strangers4.
“The vast majority of all murders of women are femicides.”
Dr. Diana Russell, 2013
LearningNetwork
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FEMICIDE
Issue 14 | July 2015
THE IMPACTS OF FEMICIDE

We hope the following tree serves as a reminder that efforts to understand and prevent femicide cannot
be separated from the broader context and root causes of violence against women.
TRACING THE ROOTS OF FEMICIDE

Femicide—the ultimate form
of violence against women and
girls—exists in every country and
takes many forms (see upper tree
branches). It is the extreme end
point on a continuum of violence
against women. Femicide occurs
because the continuum of violence
against women continues to be
accepted, tolerated and justied.
Like all violence against women,
the many causes of femicide are
rooted in gender inequality, gender
expectations, and systemic gender-
based discrimination.

Intimate femicide: the killing
of women by current or former
partners; can also include women
killed by other family members.
Non-Intimate femicide: the
killing of women ‘by someone
without an intimate relationship
with the victim’; includes
femicides involving sexual
aggression and serial killings
motivated by misogyny/hatred of
women.
Murder of women and girls in
the name of ‘honor’: the killing
of women because their lived
experience (e.g. engaging in
premarital sex) is judged as a
violation of gender and/or family
expectations.
Female infanticide and gender-
based sex-selective foeticide:
the intentional killing of female
infants or fetuses because they
are female.
Genital mutilation related
femicide: the killing of girls
resulting from complications
associated with female genital
mutilation.
Dowry-related femicide: the
killing of a woman by the groom’s
family because the dowry (e.g.
money, property) provided by her
family is judged as inadequate.
Organized crime related
femicide: the killing of women
associated with gangs, drug and/
or human trafcking, and gun
proliferation.
Learn more in Learning
Network Brief 29: Forms of
Femicide.
CLARIFYING TERMS
Statistics have an important role in describing and understanding
complex social phenomena. Available statistics on femicide can
provide an important indication of its severity and widespread nature.
For instance, it is estimated that about
66,000 women are killed every year across
the globe7.
Yet, existing statistics do not tell the whole story. Some instances of
every social problem go unrecorded. Accordingly, there is a difference
between the number of recorded incidents of the social problem and
the true number of incidents.
Data collection on femicide is further complicated by the fact that
femicide is not an ofcial term for many police or government
agencies. The term femicide is used by well-informed sociologists,
criminologists and feminist researchers. Accordingly, statistics on
femicide are considered to be “secondary” data.
Also, femicide’s complexity and causes are rooted in deeply
engrained societal structures (e.g. gender inequality, sexism,
misogyny, power imbalances) that contribute to the problem being
substantially underestimated. For example, not all instances of
the murder of women are even recognized as a crime (e.g. women
and girls who are killed in the context of war who were victimized for
political and territorial reasons). Many incidents of femicide may go
unreported to or unrecorded by ofcials. Accordingly, the implications
of femicide are made invisible.
Additional challenges in obtaining the true number of femicide
incidents include:
• Inconsistent documentation due to variation across time periods
and locations (e.g. recording processes, data availability).
• Characteristics of victims not always known or recorded (e.g.
sexual orientation and/or gender identity).
• The clandestine nature of particular activities (e.g. organized
crime, armed conict) makes it difcult to identify the number of
women killed.
• Under-investigation of instances of femicide (e.g. deaths
of Aboriginal women and girls are not always adequately
investigated, resulting in the incorrect classication of these
deaths as accidental).
There is a need for improved data collection to enhance data quality
and comparability and generate an effective evidence base to inform
programs and policy. There also needs to be improved understanding
of gender oppression and how it informs femicide.
FEMICIDE: THE STORY BEHIND THE
NUMBERS

ACTIONS TO END FEMICIDE

RESOURCES
Domestic Violence Death Review Committee 2012 Annual Report
www.learningtoendabuse.ca/sites/default/les/DVDRC_2012_Annual_Report.pdf
This report summarizes the 20 cases of domestic homicide reviewed by the Ontario
Domestic Violence Death Review Committee (DVDRC) in 2012. It highlights statistics
on domestic homicide in the province, outlines cases reviewed by the committee, and
provides recommendations for education, intervention and prevention.
Femicide: A Global Issue that Demands Action
www.genevadeclaration.org/leadmin/docs/Co-publications/Femicide_A%20Gobal%20Issue%20
that%20demands%20Action.pdf
This 2013 report published by the Academic Council on the United Nations System
(ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Ofce is the result of a one-day symposium on femicide
organized by ACUNS. Participants included member state representatives, social
scientists, NGO representatives, law enforcement ofcials, prosecutors and feminist
activists. Participants spoke about femicide, explained its meaning and causes including
the different types, and presented best practices for prevention.
Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative
www.learningtoendabuse.ca/cdhpi
The Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative (CDHPI) is an online
information depository that features annual reports from domestic violence
death review committees across Canada and internationally; public inquest
reports; information and research on special topics related to domestic
homicide such as risk assessment, risk management, and safety planning and issues around vulnerable
populations (e.g. Aboriginal women and girls; children exposed to domestic violence; immigrant, refugee, and
newcomers; rural, northern, and remote communities; and women with disAbilities and Deaf women); and
learning opportunities.
OAITH Femicide List 2013
www.oaith.ca/assets/les/OAITH%20Final%202013%20Femicide%20List-%20
revised%20Dec%202%202013.pdf
In 2014, the Ontario Association of Interval & Transition Houses (OAITH),
in partnership with the University of Guelph, Sociology and Anthropology
Department, published a Femicide List of the 32 women and children killed as
a result of gender-based violence in Ontario. Sources accessed to generate
the list include databases, individual media websites and OAITH Member
Organizations.
Relating Rape and Murder: Narratives of Sex, Death and Gender
www.palgraveconnect.com/pc/doinder/view/10.1057/9780230290662
This 2010 book, written by criminologist and former police ofcer Jane Monckton-
Smith, contextualizes narratives of rape and murder within a feminist framework. The
sexualized depiction of the murder of women and girls by the media and its impact on
police investigations are discussed, along with the pervasiveness of rape myths. The
book dispels traditional ‘stranger-danger’ discourse, highlights example cases from police
reports and popular media, and provides direction for eliminating sexual violence as well
as the murder of women.

FROM THE LEARNING NETWORK
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Written by the Learning
Network Team:
Linda Baker
Learning Director
Nicole Etherington
Research Associate
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Research Associate
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Research Associate
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Artist
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Graphic Design
Marcie Campbell
Literature Search
Footnotes
1World Health Organization (2013). Understanding and addressing violence
against women: Femicide.
2Russell, Diana (2013). “Femicide”—The Power of a Name. In Claire Laurent,
Michael Platzer and Maria Idomir, Editors, Femicide: A global Issue That
Demands Action. Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS)
Vienna Liaison Ofce.
3Laurent, C., Platzer, M. & Idomir, M (Eds)(2013). Femicide: A global Issue
That Demands Action. Academic Council on the United Nations System
(ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Ofce, p. 101.
4Russell, Diana (2013). “Femicide”—The Power of a Name. In Claire Laurent,
Michael Platzer and Maria Idomir, Editors, Femicide: A global Issue That
Demands Action. Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS)
Vienna Liaison Ofce.
5Pain 1991, as quoted in King. M. 1999. Keeping People In Their Place: An
Exploratory Analysis of the Role of Violence in the Maintenance of Porperty
Rights in Race and Gender Privileges in the United States. Review of Radical
Political Economics, 31(3): 1-11: 7.
6Roberts, J. V. November 2001. Fear of Crime and Attitudes to Criminal
Justice in Canada: A Review of Recent Trends.” Public Safety Canada.
Online: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cor/rep/2001-02-fer-crme-eng.
aspx#4.
7Alvazzi del Frate, A. (2011). When the Victim is a Woman. In GD (Geneva
Declaration) Secretariat. Global Burden of Armed Violence. Lethal
Encounters. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 113-44. http://
www.genevadeclaration.org/leadmin/docs/GBAV2/GBAV2011_CH4.pdf.
Upcoming WebinarNew Resources
Drawing the Line on Workplace Sexual Harassment
September 24, 2015 | 10:00am - 11:00am EST
In this webinar, sexual violence survivor advocates Julie Lalonde and
Nicole Pietsch will discuss several topics including:
1. Seeing beyond the individual incident or harasser
2. Taking leadership
3. Drawing The Line on Sexual Harassment
Nicole Pietsch, B.A.,
Coordinator, Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres
Julie Lalonde, M.A.,
Project Manager Draw-the-line.ca Campaign
Register here: vawlearningnetwork.ca/drawing-line-workplace-
sexual-harassment-webinar
Learning Network Brief 28: Cyber
Misogyny
This Brief examines cyber misogyny
targeted at women and girls via the
Internet.
Learning Network Brief 29: Forms of
Femicide
This Brief denes femicide and its
various manifestations.
Learning Network Brief 30: Sexual
Femicide
This Brief explores the motivations
behind and impacts of sexual femicide.
Femicide Network Area
To view over 45 resources on
Femicide, please visit the Learning
Network’s website.
For the online version of this newsletter with links to references and resources go to
www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/issue-14-femicide

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