▶ Simple Ways to Prevent Femicide in Today’s Society PT1

Simple Ways to Prevent Femicide in Today’s Society. Recently, I read the story of an Egyptian student, Nayera Ashraf, who was stabbed to death in broad daylight in front of the gates of Mansoura University. Her murderer stabbed her many times before slitting her throat.

What was her offense? She had spurned his marriage proposal. A similar incident also took place at Amman’s University of Applied Sciences. A young girl named Iman Irshaid was shot five times by a suitor she had rejected. All these are cases of femicide that are still happening in our present age.

What is Femicide?

According to Wikipedia, femicide is the intentional killing of women because of their gender. This crime has been in existence since time immemorial.

In 1801, the term “femicide” was first used to imply the killing of women, and in 1848, it was published in Wharton’s Law Lexicon.

Previously, the definition was constrained only to the intentional killing of women by men, motivated by pleasure, hatred, a sense of ownership, or male dominance.

However, in a broader scope, it involves the killing of the female gender for whatever reason. Another term used for femicide is feminicide.

Femicide increased lately

Although femicide is prevalent in African nations, it also accounts for 70% of the total deaths of females in high-income countries.

For example, in the United States, five women are murdered daily, and the number has been increasing since 2014.

A study indicated that in Europe, approximately 3,500 intimate femicides are recorded yearly. Between 2009 and 2010, England recorded 95 cases of femicide that were perpetrated by either a current or ex-intimate partner.

Examples of Forms of Femicide:

• Honor killing,
• Femicide due to sexual orientation,
• Intimate partner femicide,
• Killings because of dowry disputes,
• Killing for ritual purposes,
• Death resulting from genital mutilation,
• Death due to domestic violence,
• Rape and murder,
• Witch lynching,
• Female infanticide and feticide.

Intimate Partner Femicide:

This form of femicide accounts for 35% of female murder cases globally. Just like the name implies, it is often committed by family members or close acquaintances. It is mostly stirred by jealousy, hatred, a sense of ownership, insecurity, divorce threats, and the deflection of one partner. According to a report published by the United Nations, about 137 women are killed daily by their intimate partners or members of their families.

During the Covid-19 pandemic era, a stay-at-home policy was implemented to reduce the spread of the virus. Due to that policy, most couples had no other choice but to stay together, and that led to an increase in domestic violence.

The 2020 data, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), stated that about 47,000 women were murdered by their partners during the lockdown period. Therefore, it is assumed that every eleven minutes, a girl or woman dies due to femicide.

Femicide due to sexual orientation:

I read about the case of two lesbians that were murdered in Medford, Oregon. Michelle Abdill and Roxanne Ellis had met in Colorado, but due to the increase in homophobic attacks, they moved to Oregon. They started a property management business and also worked as gay activists in Oregon. They had lived happily for twelve years, but on the 4th of December, they were murdered by Robert Acremant.

Although in some countries, lesbianism is not an outright offense, it is still unacceptable in some religions, cultures, and governmental settings. So, that is why lesbians experience persistent prejudices and marginalization in some regions of the world.

Due to their gender, they tend to be vulnerable to acts of violence and multiple violations of their human rights. Therefore, any murder related to sexual orientation is another form of femicide. So far, the numbers of victims have not been properly documented because they are usually labeled as “hate crimes” or ” gender bias crimes.”

Femicide could also be instigated through sexual harassment, which could be in the form of rape or female prostitution. Corrective rape is a hate crime usually carried out on lesbians because of their perceived sexual orientation.

Such practices are mostly found in countries like Thailand, South Africa, Ecuador, and Zimbabwe, and in most cases, the victims are murdered after being raped.

On the 24th of April 2011, Noxolo Nogwaza, a 24-year-old lesbian activist, was attacked and murdered in KwaThema, Gauteng. Her murderers stoned and disfigured her face and head.

They also stabbed her many times with broken bottles. At the scene of the crime, condoms were found, and investigations proved they raped her before the murder.

Another example is the murder of Eudy Simelane, a popular soccer player, who played for LGBT rights and the South African women’s football team. She was raped and killed. Her body was dumped in a creek in Kwa Thema, Gauteng, and that incident publicized corrective rape in South Africa.

What are the Simple Ways to Prevent Femicide in Today’s Society?

Simple Ways to Prevent Femicide in Today’s Society PT2 To be continued…