By The Violence Policy Center

For the past 25 years, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) has published its annual study When Men Murder Women. Released for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, the studies analyzed data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) and ranked the states by their rates of females killed by males in single victim/single offender incidents. In addition to ranking the states by this homicide victimization rate, the studies also offered information on the age and race of these female homicide victims, victim to offender relationship, circumstance, and weapon type. The most recent edition (released in 2022 and which analyzed 2020 SHR data), was the final report to be published by the VPC using SHR data. In January of 2021, the FBI changed the way crime data are collected and reported, which has impacted the reliability of subsequent data. That year, the FBI retired the SHR system and replaced it with the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). While NIBRS will eventually provide much more comprehensive and robust crime data compared to the SHR, transitioning law enforcement agencies to the new data collection and reporting system has been slow and burdensome. Indeed, many law enforcement agencies did not transition to NIBRS by January of 2021, which has had a significant impact on the reliability of 2021 crime data. After a careful analysis of that year’s crime data, the VPC has determined that current NIBRS data are not reliable for state-by-state gun violence research as required by When Men Murder Women. 

As a result, for the time being the VPC is unable to continue researching and publishing When Men Murder Women, although we hope that we will be able to resume publication of the report in the future. Though other national data sources contain information about homicides, these data sources do not contain the detailed information that was collected and publicly reported by the SHR (for example, sex of offender, type of firearm, relationship, and circumstance).b Over its 25-year publication history, the findings of the report have: led to the passage of laws that protect women and children from domestic violence, including legislation focused specifically on removing guns from the hands of domestic violence offenders; resulted in statewide public education campaigns; spurred the establishment of domestic homicide review boards; and, been repeatedly cited in the support of legislation and policies that protect women and children, including the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).   

Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2023. 21p.

By Adam Teperski and Stewart Boiteux

AIM To examine whether longer apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVO) are associated with changes in domestic violence (DV) offending and ADVO breaches. METHOD A dataset of 13,717 defendants who were placed on an ADVO after a DV incident between January 2016 and April 2018 was extracted from the NSW Bureau of Crime and Statistics and Research’s ADVO database. This included 10,820 defendants subject to a final 12-month order, and 2,897 defendants subject to a final 24-month order. We utilised an entropy balancing matching approach to ensure groups of defendants subjected to differing ADVO lengths were comparable and implemented an event study analysis to examine quarterly differences in offending outcomes in the three years after the start of the order. In doing so, we were able to examine relative differences in offending in the first 12 months (where both groups were subject to an ADVO), the second 12 months (where only the 24-month ADVO group were subject to an ADVO), and the third 12 months (where neither group were subject to an ADVO). RESULTS In the 12 to 24 month period, where ADVOs with a longer duration were active and shorter ADVOs were not, longer ADVOs were associated with increased breach offending and decreased DV offending. Specifically, in the 5th, 6th and 7th quarters after the beginning of a final order we observed 3.4 percentage points (p.p.), 4.1 p.p., and 2.3 p.p. increases in defendants breaching their ADVO, respectively. When considering baseline rates of breaching, this represents relative increases of 79% to 161%. In the 5th, 6th, and 7th quarters after the beginning of a finalised order, longer ADVOs were associated with respective 1.8 p.p., 2.0 p.p., and 3.1 p.p. decreases in DV offending, reflecting relative decreases in DV offending by 41% to 59%. We find no group differences in DV offending or breaches in the subsequent 12 months, when ADVOs for both groups had expired. While the study examined multiple factors related to both longer ADVO length and offending, we cannot exclude the possibility that unobserved factors may be influencing our results. CONCLUSION Relative to 12-month ADVOs, 24-month ADVOs were associated with an increase in the probability that an offender breaches the conditions of their ADVO, and a decrease in the probability that an offender commits a proven DV offence.

(Crime and Justice Bulletin No. 261). 

Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research., 2023. 34p.

By Katrin Hohl

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have provided an unprecedented opportunity to study how such situational factors affect police recorded domestic abuse. This article presents findings from a large, representative study of the effect of the introduction and lifting of lockdowns on the volume and nature of domestic abuse recorded by seven English police forces within the first 12 months of the pandemic. The results suggest that lockdowns and the pandemic context did not create the domestic abuse crisis, and that the crisis does not go away when lockdown restrictions lift. Lockdowns interact with and amplify underlying patterns of domestic abuse. Notable differences between police forces suggest that local contexts and local police force practices play a role, with implications beyond pandemic contexts.

London: Criminology & Criminal Justice, 2023, 23p.

By Myrna Dawson

“She was Toronto’s homicide No. 70 of 2019. We only found out after her husband died of COVID-19 in jail.” The above headline appeared in the Toronto Star on April 19, 2021. No. 70 was 75-year-old Zohra Derouiche who had been fatally stabbed in her Scarborough home on Dec. 10, 2019. Her husband was charged with second degree murder when Zohra died 10 days after the stabbing. Until April 19, 2021, almost 1.5 years later, the public did not know about her death. The Toronto police did not release any information at the time of the stabbing. They did not issue a press release when she died or when her husband was charged. There was no coverage of her femicide. Her name was never made public. No one knew what she looked like because no photo of her in life was ever published. The Toronto Star only learned about the case because her 85-year-old husband died in custody in March 2021 after contracting COVID-19. His death will now be the subject of a coroner’s investigation. It is not clear if any investigation will ever occur into Zohra’s death. The Toronto police provided no specific reason for their failure to report Zohra’s death. It is likely that both sexism and ageism played a role. This research paper is about women like Zohra – older women who are killed mostly by men, but also by acquaintances and strangers, and sometimes by those in professional caregiving roles.

Ottawa: Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, 2021. 54p.

By Monique Widyono

This publication provides an overview of a conference on femicide convened jointly by PATH, the Inter-American Alliance for the Prevention of Gender-based Violence (InterCambios), the Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Washington, DC, April 14–16, 2008. The conference brought together activists, researchers, and forensic professionals from 13 countries, with the aim of identifying common ground for strengthening research and galvanizing global action to prevent femicide and end the impunity so often granted to perpetrators. Participants agreed on three outcomes: a publication with an overview of the meeting and a collation of presentations; the convening of an ad hoc International Working Group on Femicide; and an addendum to the PATH/World Health Organization manual, Researching Violence against Women: A Practical Guide for Researchers and Activists, that focuses on femicide research.

Seattle: Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH); Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO), 2009. 120p.

Edited by: Helen Hemblade, Andrada Filip, Andrew Hunt, Marie Jasser, Fritz Kainz, Markus Gerz, Kathryn Platzer and Michael Platzer

Unless there is accurate and comparable data collection on a given crime, there will be no proper understanding of it and no effective strategy with which to combat it. Having clear data helps law makers and government officials win the public’s support for tackling it through targeted prevention and investigation resources. Femicide has been defined as murder of a woman by an intimate partner or family members and the targeting of women by criminal gangs or as a weapon of war. It has been universally recognised as a crime. But how do horrific crimes of this type so often slip under the radar? Why is it so difficult to collect data on such an abhorrent criminal activity and, subsequently, to arrest the perpetrators? On 25 November 2016 in Vienna, Austria, experts from around the world gathered for an ACUNS/OSCE UNODC symposi um entitled “Combating Femicide”; Dr. Šimonović reiterated the importance of establishing a Femicide Watch in each country. Excerpts from this conference are featured in this publication; they include UNODC Deputy Executive Director Aldo Lale-Demoz, the Austrian Ambassador Clemens Koja. and Biljana Branković, member of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

Vienna: Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Office. 2017. 80p.

Edited by Simona Domazetoska, Michael Platzer and Gejsi Plaku

This is the second volume of Femicide: A Global Issue That Demands Action. This “resource book” will contribute to the worldwide campaign to stop Femicide

Vienna: Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Office, 2014, 136p.

Edited by: Claire Laurent, Michael Platzer and Maria Idomir

This publication is the result of this symposium and comprises the speeches and presentations of the various experts of the symposium. They discussed the issue of femicide from different perspectives, addressed the problems related to femicide including impunity and proposed comprehensive ways to fight this crime efficiently. In addition to the speeches this publication contains further information about the major forms of femicide. These short articles give an overview of the various crimes, including a description of the extent of the respective form of femicide and best practice examples to fight this crime.

Vienna: Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Office, 2013. 156p.

By Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS)

Violence against women is the most atrocious manifestation of the systematic and widespread discrimination and inequality that women and girls around the world continue to face. Women and their children continue to die as victims of gender related killing, often in cruel ways. The weaknesses of national prevention systems, lack of proper risk assessment and the scarcity or poor quality of data are major barriers in preventing gender-related killing of women and developing meaningful prevention strategies. These weaknesses result in misidentification, concealment and underreporting of gender-motivated killings thus perpetuating impunity for such killings. For that reason, I call all States to establish a ‘Femicide Watch’ and to publish on each 25 November – International Day on the Elimination of violence against Women – the number of femicides or gender related killing of women per year, disaggregated by age and sex of the perpetrators, as well as the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim or victims. Information concerning the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators should also be collected and published. Most importantly, each case of gender-related killing should be carefully analysed to identify any failure of protection in view of improving and developing further preventive measures. In the collection, analysis and publication of such data, States should co-operate with NGOs and independent human rights institutions working in this field, academia, victims’ representatives, as well as relevant international organizations and other stakeholders.

Vienna: Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Office, 2016. 97p.

By United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Homicide represents the most extreme form of violence against women, a lethal act on a continuum of gender-based discrimination and abuse. As this research shows, gender-related killings of women and girls remain a grave problem across regions, in countries rich and poor. While the vast majority of homicide victims are men, killed by strangers, women are far more likely to die at the hands of someone they know. Women killed by intimate partners or family members account for 58 per cent of all female homicide victims reported globally last year, and little progress has been made in preventing such murders. Targeted responses are clearly needed..

Vienna: UNODC, 2018. 64p.

By Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS)

Since 2013 the ACUNS Vienna Liaison Office has worked hard to provide a platform for those who dedicate their resources to fighting gender-related violence against women and girls, including the killing of women (femicide), its most severe manifestation. Hence, over the years FEMICIDE has become an important resource book for international institutions, scholars and practitioners. Connecting the right people has always been at the top of our agenda. We are convinced that it is only by working together that we can end gender-related violence worldwide. FEMICIDE X reflects this important principle. International organisations, NGOs and independent researchers have come together to help produce this awareness-raising publication on contemporary forms of slavery, which touches upon many important and, sadly, overlooked issues. In the first part of this Volume important statements give an overview of past actions to eliminate violence against women and what needs to be done in the future. There then follows a collection of reports and articles on modern-day enslavement of women and girls, a practice that is still commonplace in too many parts of this world. Further, we provide a review of the ACUNS Vienna Liaison Office symposium on "Ending Impunity for Gender-related Killing of Women and Girls - State Responsibility and Accountability", which took place in May 2018. There is then a short preview of our next volume on cyber bullying as a form of violence against women. The last section of FEMICIDE X is dedicated to the efforts and achievements of the civil society to combat femicide. FEMICIDE X is meant to be a wake-up call and provides a glimmer of hope at the same time. Countless women and girls suffer slavery and other horrible situations every day. However, the hard work being undertaken on so many sides to combat violence against women has not been in vain. Much has changed as a result of this work; many have been saved, and many more will be saved in the future.

Vienna: Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), 2018. 100p.

Edited by Helena Gabriel and Helen Hemblade

This volume again compiles strategies, best practices and innovative approaches, serves as a platform for, and provides practical support to anybody who wishes to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and punish VAW and gender-related killings of women and girls, i.e. femicide. The second section on cyber crimes includes an interview with Neil Walsh of UNODC, articles on online harassment of women journalists and cyber crimes against women in India, among others.

UN Studies Association (UNSA), 2019. 84p.

By Myrna Dawson, Danielle Sutton, Angelika Zecha, Ciara Boyd, Anna Johnson, and Abigail Mitchell

This report contains critical information that builds on the earlier and ongoing work on femicide in Canada and internationally by highlighting current and emerging trends and issues that require further investigation and monitoring in the coming years.

Guelph Ontario: Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, 201p. 77p.

Edited by Jill Radford and Diana E.H. Russell

"'There's no place like home.' This familiar phrase invokes the image of an ideal: home as safe haven and shelter from the world. For women who have been victims of femicide - misogynist killing by men - these simple words take on a disturbing new meaning. There is indeed no place like home for a woman who has died at the hands of a man, because it is there that she was least safe from harm. The threat of violent death for a woman is in fact greatest in her own home. And her killer is likely no stranger, no masked psychopath, but someone who knew her intimately, a companion or former companion, a husband or lover. In Femicide: The Politics of Woman Killing editors Jill Radford and Diana E.H. Russell have compiled more than 40 articles and essays that document and describe such terrible truths about the phenomenon of femicide.

New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992. 380p.

By Ana Carcedo

Trans. Susan Murdock. The report, We Will Not Forget Nor Will We Accept: Femicide in Central America 2000-2006, provides information on femicide in the countries of Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama for 2000-2006. Data on incidence and prevalence of femicide are presented in tables, broken down by year and country.

Social Justice Fund of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). 2011.

By European Institute for Gender Equality

This literature review contributes to a comparative analysis of definitions of, types of, indicators of and data collection systems on femicide in the EU Member States and the United Kingdom, and at international level. It is based on a comprehensive and in-depth search for studies published in respected peer-reviewed journals and in books. The aim is to give an overview of the existing multidisciplinary literature on variables and factors used to identify femicide and gender-related motives of female homicides. It provides a structured outline of the state of play on defining and creating typologies of femicide. The literature review relies on a broad definition of femicide as ‘structural violence’, while acknowledging that femicide is an individual act with a specific motivation. It also reviews methodologies of gathering data on femicide, together with current challenges, and identifies adequate variables to identify femicide and gender-related motives of homicide. Only some of the literature described can contribute to developing an indicator of femicide or statistical measurement.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021. 59p.

By Teagan McGinnis, Octavio Rodríguez Ferreira and David Shirk

Justice in Mexico has released its latest working paper titled Analyzing the Problem of Femicide in Mexico by Teagan McGinnis, Octavio Rodríguez Ferreira, and David Shirk. This study examines the patterns of violence against women in Mexico, with special attention to the problem of femicide. While national homicide data show that the proportion of female homicide victims in Mexico has stayed largely the same for decades, the authors demonstrate that the elevated rate of homicides throughout the country has contributed to a large increase in the total number of female homicide victims. Because many homicides targeting women have distinctive characteristics—such as sexual violence, intimate partners, or other factors attributable to the woman’s gender—they have been legally codified as “femicides,” murders targeting women due to their gender.

The authors explore the question of why both the number and proportion of femicides has increased dramatically since national level data became available in 2015. Since prosecutors play a key role in determining whether a crime will be classified as either a homicide or femicide, the authors specifically evaluate the effects of state level prosecutorial capacity on the reporting of such crimes. The authors compiled an original dataset of state prosecutorial budgets and levels of homicidal violence (by gender and by state) and used both means testing and linear regression models to assess differences between states with special prosecutors and those without, while controlling for the level of homicidal violence across states. In terms of qualitative methods, the authors also compiled federal and state laws to examine differences in criminal and administrative laws and conducted interviews with state prosecutors and security experts.

The authors find statistically significant evidence that states that have special prosecutors for the investigation of femicides are substantially more likely to classify female homicides as femicides. Indeed, appointing a special prosecutor for gender-related crimes increases the investigation of femicide cases by 50% on average, even controlling for levels of homicidal violence in those states. These findings illustrate the impact of recent prosecutorial reforms in Mexico and offer useful insights for policy makers and activists working to combat violence against women in Mexico. Informed by the novel findings in this study, the authors recommend that Mexican states lacking special prosecutorial offices for the investigation and prosecution of femicides should create such units, and that all states should provide more resources and prosecutorial tools for the investigation and prosecution of gender-motivated crimes.

Washington, DC: Wilson Center, 2022. 33p.

Edited by: Shalva Weil Consuelo Corradi Marceline Naudi.

Theory, research and prevention. “Femicide is the intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender. Femicides are usually perpetrated by intimate partners (for example, husbands or boyfriends) or family members (for example, fathers, brothers or cousins), who are usually familiar males; on rare occasions the perpetrators can be women, either lesbian partners or kin. A global study of homicides carried out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2012 showed that 79% of all homicide victims were male. The global average male homicide rate was, at 9.7 per 100,000, almost four times the global average female rate.”

Policy Press (2018) 201p.