It is a perception in the west, with all the freedoms and cultural beliefs held, that feminism is out of place in today’s society. Some believe that differences between gender have levelled out it is now an even playing field. However, this is not the case. A lot of countries, including western countries, are facing waves of femicide. Femicide is the wide range of violent acts against women because they are women, spanning from verbal assault to homicide. A study undertaken by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that in 2017, 58% of homicides committed against women were by an intimate partner or family member, a jump from 47% in 2012.
Indigenous women, sex workers, LBTQI+ women and pregnant women are at an increased risk of suffering femicide. Despite some of the advances globally on equality, it is clear there is more to do when it comes to protecting our women.
What are the types of Femicide?
- Murder by an intimate partner or family member
- Torture and misogynist slaying of women: misogyny against women that can format as serial killings, rape
- Honour killings: When a woman is killed by an intimate partner or family member for a multitude of reasons that go against the grain of the culture. For example; choice of partner, education, employment, modesty etc. An estimated 5,000 girls and women are killed each year in the name of honour. Methods of killings range from forced suicide, acid disfiguration etc.
- Targetted killing in conflict: When a woman or group of women are targetted during conflict or war as a method of combat. This can take the form in rapes, murders and genocides. In the Rwandan genocide, many Tutsi women were raped and impregnated by Hutu males as a method of ethnic cleansing.
- Female infanticide: The murder of a child or baby because they are female, and will not pass on the family name. In India, it is estimated 600,000 girls are missing annually.
- Femicides related to criminal organisations, human trafficking, cartels etc: This is very common in ‘narco states’ like Honduras where women can be targetted as punishment
- Femicides relating to sexual identity: The murder of females due to their sexual orientation.
Femicide in Latin America
Latin America has one of the highest rates of Femicide in the world with more than half of the top 25 countries for femicide being located in the Americas. In Argentina, during the COVID-19 lockdown in March Cristina Iglesias and her daughter Ada were killed by Cristina’s partner and buried in his backyard. In February in Mexico, 25-year-old Ingrid Escamill was killed in Mexico city by her partner, causing outrage when the President told reporters he didn’t want to speak on the issue as he was concerned it would distract from the administration raffle regarding the sale of a presidential aeroplane. The countries National prosecutor reports that femicides in Mexico have increased by 137 percent in the last five years. Protests in Mexico have increased with the lack of action taken against four Mexican police officers in regards to the rape of a 17-year-old girl. On average, one woman is killed in Honduras every 18 hours. Rape shelters are scarce, and the impunity rate is more than 90%. In Venezuela, the rate of femicides has increased from April 2019 to April 2020 by 65%.
Femicide in Eastern Europe, and Russia
Dominika Stojanoska, a Ukrainian representative for the United Nations claims that “domestic violence is a pandemic within a pandemic”, referring to the 30% increase of calls to the domestic violence hotline since the start of the pandemic. In Russia, domestic violence was partially decriminalised in 2017, however, in areas such as Chechenya, honour killings are common.
Femicide Protests Globally
Femicide protests have occurred all over the world in 2020. In Palestine, there was a sit-in protest as many people were concerned with the growing number of femicides. In Palestine, 26 women have been killed since the beginning of the year, including the suspected ‘honour killing’ of 21-year-old Israa Ghrayeb.
In Turkey, in August alone, there were 27 confirmed murders of women and 23 women who died under suspicious circumstances. The growing rate of femicide in Turkey has lead to large scale protests, sparked by the murder of 27 year old student Pinar Gultiken.
Western countries are not immune to femicide. In Australia in 2019, 74 women were murdered, 63 of which are alleged relationship violence deaths. Impact for Women Australia reports that 81% of the murders of women this year are alleged relationship/domestic violence-related.
Nine months into the coronavirus pandemic, it is clear that isolation in all forms across the world has exacerbated domestic violence and has seen a wave of femicides in places such as Turkey, the United States and Mexico. Women are under threat now and always, wherever you look, even on our own doorstep in Australia. Protests against media institutions governments and the general population have also occurred, as many people try to stop toxic cultures and views of women. Despite having so many luxuries in the west that many others do not receive, such as education, it does not mean our job is done. We cannot be free until every woman is. Some women have had to grow up too young and others never got the chance.
