Femicide as a crime: global criminalization trends

Attention is drawn to statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women on the significant number of women killed as victims of gender-based violence, as well as the motives for such killings (jealousy, refusal to end a relationship, revenge for reporting to the police, or unwillingness to accept a new relationship after a breakup), the most common triggers (domestic violence, alcohol consumption, psychoactive substance abuse, conflicts), and factors leading to femicide – firearms and technology as instruments of control (meaning new threats, including violence related to online stalking, doxing (publishing private identifying information about a person on the internet without their consent), and violence related to the use of images).

Particular attention is paid to Italy’s experience in the context of the criminalization of femicide (the killing of a woman on the grounds of her gender). The reasons that prompted the Italian government to amend the Criminal Code are detailed, and the relevant statistics and circumstances of the widely publicized murder that prompted the development and adoption of regulations establishing femicide as a crime punishable by life imprisonment are outlined. The arguments of both supporters and skeptics of the advisability of this approach are highlighted. It is highlighted that the second group believes that there are no gaps in the relevant legal protection and that the new definition of femicide is too blurred and difficult for judges to apply, and since most women in Italy are killed by their current or former partners, it will be difficult to prove that gender was the motive for the murder.

The article examines how the provisions on femicide are codified in the Criminal Code of Italy (as the state that most recently introduced the relevant changes and amendments), as well as in the legislation of other foreign countries that have already taken this path. In particular, examples from Cyprus, Malta, Croatia, Costa Rica, and Argentina are given. It is highlighted that in the last-mentioned country, unlike other states, the necessity of such a separate provision on femicide is currently being reconsidered.