The term “femicide” is not widely used in Germany. One possible reason could be its similarity to “genocide” and its connotations for German history. Nevertheless, the killings of women are recognized as an extreme form of VAW and are included in criminological data and murder statistics, and are also recognized in research and policies on VAW. There are few publications and studies focusing on femicide; the most recent systematic work was a research study carried out by Luise Greuel (2009) on the escalation of violence in intimate partner relationships.1 In addition, Dr. Susanne Heynen has started a research project on homicide within families in the context of intimate partner violence, where relatives were interviewed about the circumstances and consequences of the homicides in a systematic manner.2
Sources
There are 3 bodies that collect femicide data in Germany on a regular basis. However, two of them (with the exception of the police) are neither financed, nor institutionalized.
a) The German Criminological Police Statistics (PKS) collects all cases of killings (and additional data on the gender of the victims and victim-perpetrator relationship).3 Thus, the number of women killed and – to some extent – the relationship to the perpetrator, can be accessed. Another available source is the court statistics on convicted perpetrators. Cases where the perpetrator is unknown and/or the relationship is not clear are not detailed. Therefore, the number of women killed by partners and/or ex-partners might be underreported in this source.
b) Over the past few years, The Network of Autonomous Shelters (ZIF) has collected cases of femicide using Internet searches alongside the published data from the police and the media. This information is collected for internal reasons and not published regularly.
c) In 1916, two researchers (Dr. Monika Schröttle and Julia Habermann) began systematically collecting information and data on femicides and building a national database. They also joined the European Homicide Monitor and are planning to institutionalize this project in the framework of a
national scientific monitoring of the Istanbul Convention and VAW, in cooperation with the German Ministry on Women and Family Affairs.4
2 Definition
In order to facilitate the collection of data on femicide, it is crucial first to include all cases related to the killing of women. Gender-based cases can then be filtered out according to the victimperpetrator relationship (e.g. the killing of a woman by a former or current intimate partner, by family members in the context of honour killings, or by other persons in the context of prostitution or sexualized crimes). The term “partner” needs to be defined in a broad manner, to include married and non-married, cohabiting and non-cohabiting relationships, dating partners and lovers.
(by Monika Schröttle and Ksenia Meshkova)
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
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