Feminicide

This evening, watching the News, I found a sad record for Italy.I t seems that saying NO is now dangerous... You're a woman? So, you have to say always YES to your man.... I've tought a lot about that....  Probably violence comes from sick relationships, anyway, in my opinion, it's a really shame that a man can't  agree to be dumped...

Recently I noticed that also a normal debate can be misunderstood. Or can be the beginning ... of the end, for women's life. I've found an article from the European Parliament, dated 2006.

I report an abstract:

DEFINITION:

The initial concerns on murders of women and girls were raised by NGOs in late 2001, which were worried about the brutality of the killings of over 200 women since 1993 in Mexico and the  wide impunity related to them.  The brutality of the murders and  the  impunity  of the perpetrators are two characteristic features of feminicide. Other distinctive marks, which can be connected to the feminicide, are  initial reactions  of denial particularly at local level, lack of proper investigations, and the lack of willingness to detain and bring to justice those responsible for the murders, discriminatory and disrespectful attitude towards to the family members of the victims and even the blaming of the victims. ...

Feminicide can also continue because the authorities do not efficiently carry out their work to prevent, avoid, and sanction crimes against women and girls, which are fed by a cultural and social environment of machismo and misogyny.

CAUSES

Although the circumstances and lack of clarification make it difficult to characterize the motivation behind the murders of women and girls with much certainty, there is general agreement among both the State and non-state sectors that most relate to manifestations of violence with gender specific causes and consequences. A substantial number are linked to sexual violence and others to domestic violence. Some cases present multiple forms of such violence.

Several studies on Feminicide in Guatemala and Mexico have shown that murders of the women are integrally related to gender-based violence. While the murders may be attributed to different motives and may have been committed by both state and non-state individuals, studies shows that the violence has been usually gender-based; the gender of the victim would appear to be a significant factor in the crime, influencing both the motive and the context, as well as the kind of violence suffered by women. For example, in a number of cases there is evidence that women were raped or subjected to some other form of sexual violence before they died.

In many cases,  violence occurs in the family or within the home, where violence is often tolerated. The neglect, physical and sexual abuse, and rape of girl children and women by family members and other members of the  household, as well as incidences of spousal and non-spousal abuse, often go unreported and are thus difficult to detect. Even when such violence is reported, there is often a failure to protect victims or punish perpetrators.

The roots of violence are deep in the machismo culture in Central America and poverty has exacerbated intra family violence. Violence is positive within machista culture: It is a central component of the masculine identity's attributes of toughness, force and aggression. 

In Costa Rica, 84% of victims of violence are women and 96% of sexual offenders are men. Girls are 95% of incest victims and 32.5% of all raped girls have been raped by their own fathers. A full 67% of all sexual aggression occurs in the home of the victim. In El Salvador, one of every 6 women is raped and one of every 3 suffers sexual abuse, in which 94% of the aggressors are men and over 50% were or are  effectively united with the women. The majority of sexual violence cases occur in the home. In Nicaragua, physical mistreatment, sexual abuse and violence are reported as the main expressions of violence against women.

Men known and connected to the family are 87% of the rapists and 60% of the rapes occur in the victim's home. In Honduras, violence against girls is the main expression of intra family violence. Among relatives, the father is the most frequent aggressor. In Panama, 90% of sexual aggressions are against women and 41% are rapes. In 67% of the cases, sexually attacked women declared that they knew the aggressor.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Feminicide  is said to be a result from a climate of generalised violence and discrimination against women and leading to the attitude that "women are expendable and can be routinely used, abused and discarded.

Discrimination has been a persistent feature of the various offences that have been committed against women as well as in the response provided by the States. The  reaction of the authorities to the disappearance of the young women, the way in which killings are investigated and the inadequate protection programmes in place to prevent murders are all examples of  discriminatory treatment. Furthermore, the fact that the vast majority of the women murdered come from poor backgrounds means that they suffer discrimination on two grounds: on the basis of both gender and social class.

The  lack of an effective official response is also part and parcel of the larger context  of discrimination. The denial of an effective judicial response both springs from and feeds back into the  perception that violence against women and especially domestic violence is not a serious crime.

In all societies, to a greater or lesser degree, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture. The low social and economic status of women can be both a cause and a consequence of violence againstwomen.

Violence against women is a manifestation of the  historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to prevent women's full advancement. Violence against women throughout the life cycle derives essentially from cultural patterns, in particular the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices and all acts of extremism linked to race, sex, language or religion that perpetuate the lower status accorded to women

Traditional systems of power and patriarchy remain largely unchallenged in Central American countries and stereotypes regarding the subordinated role of women in society are still firmly entrenched. As recognised in the Convention of Belém de Pará, violence against women is an expression of the  historically unequal power relations between women and men, and a clear expression of gender discrimination. It is obvious that there is a  connection between feminicide and violence towards women in the society.

IMPUNITY AND DUE DILIGENCE

Many social and judicial factors exacerbate the problem of violence against women. These includes among others ... the women's lack of access to legal information, aid or protection, the lack of laws that effectively prohibit violence against women, failure to reform existing laws, inadequate efforts on the part of public authorities to promote awareness of and enforce existing laws.

Impunity has been the hallmark of the investigation into cases of women been murdered.  In each country where feminicide has been recognised, there has been a general unwillingness to examine the murders of women. Unwillingness has appeared in all levels on the judicial system. Neither authorities, police, prosecutors, courts nor politicians have shown willingness to solve the crimes against women and protect them from new attacks. Although awareness  with respect to feminicide has increased and  NGOs and civil society have pressed the authorities to deal effectively with the killings, there are still no adequate investigations.

Wednesday, 19 April 2006,

10.00 a.m - 13.00 p.m.

BRUSSELS

The enclosed note was prepared by Ms Johanna Ikonen, stagiaire in the Human Rights Unit

So...this is an old topic... my comment is: luckily we're evolved...