Femicide

Definition. The killing of a woman or girl because of her sex or in a context of domination, violence or discrimination based on gender. The definition and legal classification of femicide vary between countries and institutions using the term.

Key points. Femicide does not automatically refer to every killing in which the victim is a woman. The concept seeks to distinguish, among homicides of women, those associated with gender relations, including killings committed by an intimate partner, killings accompanying sexual violence, or killings forming part of a wider pattern of violence directed against women because they are women.

The term may be used in criminological, statistical, political or legal contexts. Some states have introduced femicide or feminicide into their criminal law; others prosecute the same acts under general offences of homicide or murder, sometimes with aggravating circumstances.

International comparisons must take these differences in definition into account. The number of women killed and the number of cases officially recorded as femicides do not necessarily measure the same phenomenon.

Related concepts. Gender-based violence · Individual criminal responsibility · Violence prevention