Feminicide across Europe: Denmark

 Until a few years ago, the term ‘wife killing’/’wife homicide’ was used in the judicial system (and was linked to marital status), but this has now changed to ‘partner killing’ (not linked to marital status or gender), i.e. it is a gender neutral concept. 

The notion of femicide is not used in the official Danish system of registration. However, the victim statistics regarding homicide are divided by gender (Denmark's Statistics). The term femicide is to some extent used in the Danish media.  
 (by Yvonne Mørck)

In order to fight feminicide/femicide, various Latin American and European countries have adopted increasingly specific laws and legal instruments that penalize feminicide. The ratification of the Belém do Pará Convention1 in Latin America and the entry into force of the Istanbul Convention2  in Europe, demonstrate an increasingly stronger international commitment against this kind of violence. The establishment of the Bi-regional Dialogue on Gender by the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), as well as the adoption of the Urgent Resolution on Feminicide in the European Union and Latin America3 by the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) also express this commitment.    

However, legal norms, agreements, and international dialogues alone are not sufficient for the eradication of violence against women, nor its most extreme manifestation, feminicide.

Traditionally, States were only responsible for their own actions or those of their agents, but international public law has evolved and currently, the principle of due diligence makes the State responsible for the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of violence, regardless of who commits the crime. The duty of due diligence obliges States to enter the private sphere, where historically, they have not intervened, but where the majority of cases of violence against women occur. 

Therefore, it is the duty of the State to take all necessary measures to prevent human rights violations, such as feminicide, before they occur. This means, on the one hand, adopting pertinent laws and policies to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and punish those guilty of abuse, and on the other hand, successfully implement them. 

Patricia Jiménez, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung – European Union, Brussels


https://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/feminicide_eng.pdf

https://www.um.edu.mt/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/308017/March_9_Country_resources.pdf
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/12/04/denmarks-new-feminist-party-has-bold-and-its-popularity-growing/919998001/