Meaning of Feminicide (What is it, Concept and Definition)

What is Feminicide:

Femicide is defined as the murder of women because of their gender status, that is, by the mere fact of being women, so it is always perpetrated by a man The word is a neologism that comes from the English language, in which it receives the name of feminicide.

This type of murder constitutes one of the first causes of death of the female population today.Hence feminicide has given rise to specific laws for its condemnation in some countries.

Femicide always responds to hatred or contempt for the female gender, sexual pleasure in the act of the domination of the woman and/or the desire for possession, which implies that the murderer conceives of the woman as a property of man.In any of these cases it is a crime of gender hatred.

Therefore, feminicide is the result of a process preceded by other forms of mistreatment of women , be it event These are the same or recurring, and are perpetrated by a stranger or an acquaintance.Among the forms of abuse are counted: rape, psychological violence, obstruction of the free development and autonomy of women, sexual slavery, physical abuse, domestic violence, torture, mutilation, disfiguration, persecution, deprivation of communication and deprivation of liberty.

Difference between feminicide, femicide and homicide

Not every murder of a woman qualifies as feminicide For example, if a woman is killed by resisting an assault, or if she is killed by another woman, she does not apply as feminicide, but as femicide , the term equivalent to homicide (murder of a man ).

For the murder of a woman to be categorized as femicide, there must be a motivation derived from the belief in the subordination of the female to the male gender , and therefore only it may be a man who perpetrated the crime That is to say, there must be a power relationship linked to gender.

The Mexican anthropologist Marcela Lagarde was the first to introduce the variation feminicide , in order to clearly distinguish both scenarios of murders of women, which represent social problems of a different kind.

Femicide is a consequence of impunity in the face of systematic violence against women, since in fact it is the last step of an escalation of violence that it is not denounced (by the victim or by its surroundings) or, if it is denounced, it is ignored by the authorities, when considering such violence as a "domestic", "natural" or "deserved punishment" issue.

Let us clearly see the difference between homicide/femicide and feminicide in the following table:

SubjectHomicide/FemicideFeminicideConceptPrivation of the life of a man or woman respectively.Privation of the life of a woman by reason of gender.Victimary Anyone, whether man or woman is always a man or a group of men.Type of assassination Accidental (guilty homicide) or intentional (intentional homicide).It is always intentional.Motivation If it is accidental: negligence, inaccuracy or imprudence.If it is intentional: the victim is an obstacle for the offender.(hatred and contempt of gender), sexual pleasure in the act of domination or sense of ownership over women.PrecedentesUnique act, except in cases of teaching due to causes not attributable to gender.It is always a consequence of: rape, psychological violence, physical violence , domestic violence, mutilation, disfigurement, deprivation of liberty, lack of communication or torture.Body The body and evidence of the crime are attempted to hide.The body is deliberately displayed to convey a message of virile power and exemplary punishment.

Causes of feminicide

Among the most common causes of femicide, we can mention the following:

• Culture and society based on patriarchy (machismo);
• Naturalization of gender violence: impunity, cover-up and justification of violence against women;
• Concept of women as property and object of pleasure of man;
• Culture of Patriarchal "honor" (demonstration of virility as power);
• Domestic violence;
• Selective abortion (deliberate abortion of female fetuses) or female infanticide, either by cultural preference to male children or by birth control policies applied by some States;
• Organized crime: trafficking of women.

Characteristics of feminicide

In general terms, femicides usually comply with some of these characteristics, not necessarily all.It depends on the degree of intimacy of the victim with the perpetrator, among other factors.Among the most common characteristics we can mention:

• Senals of sexual abuse in the body of the victim (single or recurring act);
• Degrading mutilations and mistreatment inflicted on the body, whether made in life or after the murder.This includes any manifestation of necrophilia;
• Exhibition of the corpse in a public place;
• Existence of an affective relationship of trust or intimacy between the victimizer and the victim;
• Background of physical, psychological or sexual harassment or abuse in any field, whether domestic, school or work, among others.
• Deprivation of liberty or of the community icacion, regardless of the duration of it.

Types of feminicide

There are different types of feminicide.Their divergences usually come from the field in which the crime, the relationship with the victim and the specific motivation.They are the following:

• Intimate feminicide: is one in which the man and the woman hold or have sustained a relationship (dating, marriage or adventure).It is usually related to jealousy, possession and domination.
• Intimate family femininity: the one in which the murderer is part of the family circle (father , brothers, uncles, cousins, etc.).
• Non-intimate feminicide: All feminicides in which there is no intimate or family relationship of the woman with the murderer or her murderers It can be a casual rapist, a study or work partner or a group of men.Within this type of feminicide, there are some specific varieties, related to m Additional awards to those already mentioned:
  • Racial feminicide: In this type of crime, hatred of women is reinforced by its ethnic origin, whose features or physical attributes differentiate it from the criminal.
  • Lesbicide: are those cases in which the woman is killed as a punishment for being a lesbian.It is usually preceded by the violation for alleged corrective purposes or as part of the punishment.
  • Serial feminicide: refers to those feminicides committed by a man on a recurring basis, in which he chooses the victim on the basis of a pattern.Violence inflicted on women's bodies is their source of pleasure, including murder.
• Connection femininity: The killer kills a woman which tries to prevent the abuse of another.Normally, it is a woman from the family or domestic environment (mother, sister, neighbor, friend).n intentional murder for his status as a woman.

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Andrea Imaginario

University professor, singer, Bachelor of Arts (mention Cultural Promotion), with a Masters in Literature Compared by the Central University of Venezuela, and PhD in History at the Autonomous University of Lisbon.