R5: No more victims: stop femicide in Europe

The Istanbul Convention condemns all forms of violence against women and calls
for special measures and legislation to prevent and protect women from gender-
based violence.[1] However, as femicide is not mentioned in the Convention, the
European Greens are calling to amend the Istanbul Convention to include gender-
related killings as the most brutal and extreme manifestation of violence
against women and girls and elaborate urgent and adequate measures to stop
femicide worldwide. Furthermore, the European Greens are calling upon European
governments to combat femicide and take urgent actions on prevention, protection
and reporting.

Femicide is one of the most dramatic and poignant problems in our societies.
Between 2012 and 2022, 14,000 intentional homicides of women took place in the
European Union alone. In most cases, women and girls were murdered by (ex)-
partners or family members.

The gruesome statistics show high incidences of femicide in our countries. In
2022, women were killed by (ex) partners or family members 120 times in Italy,
118 times in France and 113 times in Germany. The actual figures are probably
higher since femicide cases are underreported as not all murder cases of women
are recognised as such due to inconsistencies in femicide-related statistics.

Femicide was recognised for the first time at United Nations level in 2013
through the Declaration of Vienna. The declaration identifies a long list of
different types of femicide such as killing of women and girls in the name of
“honour”, because of sexual orientation, as targets in armed conflicts, or due
to accusation of witchcraft, to name a few. Femicide is driven by discrimination
against women and girls, unequal power relations, stereotypes and harmful social
norms. Numbers are rising worldwide. Women in the public eye, such as
politicians, activists and journalists, are often targets of online and offline
violence.

Unfortunately, there is no standard definition of femicide agreed between member
states of the Council of Europe. The lack of a uniform definition is an obstacle
to measuring femicide, which therefore risks becoming invisible in general
homicide data.

Femicide is predictable in most cases and could be prevented if early signs are
detected and measures taken. Femicide is often preceded by other forms of
partner violence such as physical abuse, controlling behaviour, coercion, and
stalking. In our view, the Council of Europe Member States should implement
adequate measures against potential perpetrators and provide safety measures for
victims.

Gender-based violence underscores the disparities faced by women, particularly
in terms of their safety and psychological and physical integrity. These
disparities are linked to their condition as “second-class citizens”. Progress
to reach gender equality in Europe is slow. The European Union’s knowledge
centre on Gender Equality (EIGE) estimates that at the current pace, gender
equality – as per gender equality index – will not be reached before 2080!