articles
China Elevator Stories
Femicides Are A Huge Problem Across The World
Femicide rates have been rising across many European countries.
29/09/2024
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
One of the more dramatic femicide cases in Germany involving spyware was that of a woman who fled to a women’s shelter but was murdered because her ex-partner tracked her down using the software.
The book Femicide Across Europe (Theory, Practice, and Prevention) defines femicide as follows:
“United Nations documents define femicide/feminicide as the gender-related killing of women that can take many forms: intimate partner femicide, killings of women due to accusations of sorcery/witchcraft, so-called honour killings, killings in the context of armed conflict, dowry-related killings, killings of aboriginal and indigenous women, killings as a result of sexual orientation or gender identity, and so on. These crimes are often underreported and under-prosecuted by official authorities.”
The Vienna Declaration on Femicide expands on this definition, describing it as the killing of women and girls because of their gender, which may take various forms, including but not limited to:
– Torture and misogynistic killings of women
– Honour killings
– Targeted killings in armed conflict
– Dowry-related killings
– Killings based on sexual orientation or gender identity
– The killing of aboriginal and indigenous women
– Female infanticide and gender-based sex-selection foeticide
– Genital mutilation-related femicide
– Witchcraft accusations
– Femicides linked to gangs, organized crime, human trafficking, and the proliferation of small arms.
Certain types of femicide are more prevalent in specific countries. For example, many Islamic countries have higher numbers of honour-related femicides, though they also occur elsewhere. Countries such as Iran, Egypt, India, Jordan, Pakistan, and Morocco are known for such killings. In Europe, women in relationships with Muslim men are more at risk of being killed in the name of ‘honour’. Several high-profile honour killings of Muslim women in Germany have occurred when they tried to leave their partners. In some cases, they were even killed by their own brothers.
Dowry-related femicides are not common in Central Europe but are tragically frequent in South Asia. According to Womankind,
“in India, dowry-related killings amount to 20 femicides a day – nearly 7,000 dowry deaths per year in 2020.”
Some sources estimate that up to 25,000 newly married women are killed or maimed annually as a result of dowry-related violence (WHO). Countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran have reported cases of dowry-related killings.
“dowry deaths typically result from a bride’s suicide or murder by her husband and his family, often due to dissatisfaction with the dowry. These deaths usually follow a series of prior domestic abuses.”
Countries notorious for witchcraft-related femicides include Nepal, where “Dalit women are disproportionately impacted by witchcraft accusations and murdered” (Womankind). A UN report from 2020 noted that at least 20,000 ‘witches’ were killed across 60 countries between 2009 and 2019, with the actual number likely higher due to underreporting. “India has a long history of witch-hunting, and Papua New Guinea and sub-Saharan Africa are also hotspots for this type of violence” (The Conversation).
Gender-based sex-selection foeticides are prevalent in countries like China, where a preference for male heirs, coupled with the one-child policy, has led to widespread gender-based abortions. Despite the illegality of determining a baby’s sex before birth in China, some physicians still offer this service illegally in exchange for bribes. Female infanticide has a long history in China, where, during the Qing Dynasty, unwanted female infants were often abandoned or left to die either in the streets or in a river.
When I had pregnancy check-ups in Siping in 2016 during my second pregnancy, the first question the physician asked was whether I wanted an abortion. I didn’t. The prevalence of abortions in Siping was evident based on the number of surgery rooms (six for abortions) compared to only one room for pregnancy check-ups. These facilities were all part of the Gynecology Department at Siping Central Hospital, specifically in the First Trimester Department, clearly indicating the high frequency of abortions rather than C-sections.
Female infanticide also occurs in India, Pakistan, and parts of West Africa. As with all statistical data on femicide, it’s essential to recognize that only a fraction of cases are officially recorded. According to UN Women’s Gender-Related Killings of Women and Girls (Femicide/Feminicide), “many gender-related killings are not identified.”
My research didn’t uncover specific statistics on femicides in China, leading me to believe that femicides are likely not registered as such in the country.
Have you heard of rising femicide rates?