Female homicide or femicide, is a worldwide phenomenon that does not respect country, ethnicity,

culture or social status. In the last couple months, it has gathered considerable attention through mass

and social media, thanks to cases that of increasing brutality, especially in South America, where the

age, social class and appearance of the victim does not matter. But femicides are not a new issue in

South America, or in the rest of the world, they have been brought to attention even more than ever

now thanks to social media, but they have always been present. The term femicide was coined by

female writers in the United States during the 1970s, in response to a perceived increase in the

victimization of women and the deaths that resulted from it. It was used to highlight the prevalence of

the issue and to raise public consciousness about its horrible consequences (Adinkrah, 2001). This can

be seen through various works that analyse femicides in different countries and hemispheres of the

planet. The thesis of this paper argues that female homicide has more than one identifiable cause, and

that they do not vary throughout cultures or countries, making it a global phenomenon, not dependent

on specific beliefs. This will be shown by comparing case studies and research on femicide in different

countries from all over the globe, such as Chile, United States, Fiji and Turkey.

Vasquez Mejas (2016) uses Rodrigo Ramos book Alto Hospicio (2008) to examine the realities of

femicide in Northern Chile. Alto Hospicio is a town located in the Atacama Desert, just beside Iquique,

one of the norths most important cities. Characterized by poverty and illegal taking of land, from 1999

Alto Hospicio was witness to the disappearance of girls and women, many of them single mothers who

looked for a better life for their children. Since the town of Alto Hospicio is defined by marginality,

poverty and delinquency, the government was quick to blame the disappearance of these women on

their search for a better lifestyle and money in prostitution. As Silva (2005, in Vsquez Mejas, 2016)

points out, the link between class and gender becomes imperishable, since it is the dominant men from
the higher and ruling class that dictate what females behavior patterns are acceptable. Morality of the

low classes is questioned, while women from upper classes are on the side of controlled sexuality. This

way, these women are the only ones responsible, by trespassing male rules that tie women to the

domestic sphere. This male chauvinist view of women in Chile is what dominated police investigation

in every case of female disappearance in Alto Hospicio, where police just assumed the disappeared

women were working as prostitutes in Bolivia, instead of opening a case and searching for them. Since

these women were poor, it was quicker and easier to assume they had left by their own will, to work in

the red-light district.

In the United States, homicide is one of the first causes of death in young women. Even though

homicide, or lethal violence is more predominantly a male phenomenon, young women are at risk of

homicide, with 1/3 of women murdered in the USA between 1976 and 1996) being killed by partners,

family members or friends, in contrast to a 6% percent of men who have died in hands of their partners

(Frye & Wilt, 2001). The authors sustain that the reason for this difference between intimate partner

and non-intimate partner femicide is not clear, but is attributable to sociostructural factors. From a

theoretical point of view, the social disorganization theory can be used to explain homicide rate,

seeking to explain engagement in prohibited behaviors in a group level. Social disorganization theory

states that reciprocal social interactions co-create the moral order by determining what behaviors are

considered deviant or prohibited and then creating social bonds that define and restrict these behaviors.

The disruptive effects of industrialization, urbanization and immigration have weakened primary group

ties (small groups with close personal ties such as families, churches and clubs) within communities

and caused reduced constraints on nonconformity. The power of social norms to regulate behavior is

weakened, and social controls are rendered ineffective; in turn, social problems or social

reorganizations result (Blumer, 1937; Sampson & Groves, 1989 in Frye & Wilt, 2001, p. 351). Low

economic status, ethnic heterogeneity and residential mobility were the constructs used to
operationalize this theory, and since its first formulation it has been useful for analysis of homicide

rates, thus showing the importance of socioeconomic status in studying overall homicide rates. Even

though only tested in theory, in the US as in Chile, socioeconomic status stands out as a cause for

female homicide (Frye & Wilt, 2001). Frye & Wilt (2001) also take some feminist theoretical

perspectives to understand female homicide. Some of these theories argue that the social structure is

patriarchal, or male-dominated, and that mens violence against women is something already built the

organization of society. As was noted before in the Chilean case, these theories point out that the cause

of violence against women is rooted in power and in gender, and that physical and sexual violence

committed against women is an active attempt of maintain dominance and control over women

(Brownmiller, 1975; Dobash & Dobash, 1970; Radford & Russel, 1992 in Frye & Wilt, 2001).

Physical violence, conceptualized as occupying the extreme end of the continuum of male dominance

of women, represents the maintenance of the asymmetrical interpersonal power dynamic between men

and women (Dobash & Dobash, 1970, in Frye & Wilt, 2001).

Mensah Adinkrah (2001) addresses patriarchal family ideology and female homicide victimization in

Fiji, but before doing so, frames female homicide on a global scale, naming causal factors that underlie

these phenomena. Research conducted on various cultural setting across the world affirms that the

prominence of patriarchal social structures is what determines violence against females. Like what was

affirmed before in the case of the United States, the argument is that in patriarchal social structures,

femicide constitutes a way of maintaining men domination and women subordination, a means of

controlling women as a sex class, and as such it is central to the maintenance of the patriarchal status

quo (Radford, 1996:2 in Adinkrah, 2001). Adinkrah obtains data of social and cultural aspects of

Fijian and Fiji Indian society from 3 years of ethnographic research, and through an attitudinal survey

addressing gender roles, marital relations and domestic violence. As to the situation of women in Fiji,

their status is comparable to that of women living under a patriarchal gender culture in any non-
Western country. Women in Fiji are far from achieving legal, social, political and economic equality

with men, despite various government attempts. Changes have not been successful mostly due to

conservative sector in the population that support the continuity of a gender hierarchy that privileges

men. Concerning physical violence towards Fijian women, literature reveals that it is a widespread and

chronic phenomenon, constituting a matter of social and public health. It is considered commonplace in

society and a harsh reality for the women who live it (Adinkrah, 2001). In a 10 year period (1982-1992)

269 people were murdered in Fiji. 261 victims were gender-identified in police records, and 81 (31%)

were females. Of those 81 females victims, more than half (58, 71,6%) were murdered by men. The

female victims were very poor, came from a rural background and were undereducated and

unemployed. Most of them depended financially on their husbands or partners. These victims were also

mostly Indian, more than 50% of them (67,9%). Femicide in Fiji takes several forms, that include:

marital femicide, female infanticide, uxoricide, post-rape femicides, and homicides resulting from male

abduction. Marital femicide is the most substantial form of femicide in Fiji (Adinkrah, 2001).

Yilmaz et al. (2015) analyze and compare domestic femicide cases in the Turkish cities of Diyarbakir

and Tekirdag, stating that patriarchal family structure, economic conditions, rural living and early

marriage are high risk factors for violence against women. Honour killings are not rare in Turkey. A

2008 report of the Human Rights Department stated that honour and customary killings occur in cities

with a high population density and that have been under massive migration. In Turkey, 81 major cities

fit these characteristics, with Diyarbakir ranking fourth. Honour killings have direct relation to mores

defined as: unwritten rules that regulate the lives, behaviors, habits and moral understandings of the

people in a certain society. Thus, mores not only set behavioral patterns, but also impose penal

sanctions when rules are disregarded. Homicide is the most important of these sanctions. Honor killing

related to societal mores can occur when a family and/or husband is perceived to have authority of a

woman; a female family member is killed after being accused of, for example, having an unsanctioned
illicit relationship which is against the family traditions or mores, thereby besmirching the familys

perceived sense of honor (Yilmaz et al. 2015, p. 18). Diyarbakir is a city in Turkeys southeast region,

where a conservative social culture still prevails, leading to circumstances such as underage marriage,

and polygamy, transforming womens rights into an important issue. The city of Tekirdag in contrast, is

in the European part of the Marmara region, where domestic tourism, industrialization and economic

activity prevail, and where European style culture dominates, being near global standards in terms of

womens rights. As the article points out, honour killings are committed in various countries around the

world, but are most common in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, being seen more frequently in

Mediterranean Muslim countries, where social mores play a defining role in the patriarchal order

(Yilmaz et al. 2015). The results found by comparing murder statistics in both cities show that there is

a higher rate of honour killings in Diyarbakir where social characteristics and patriarchal family

structure rules. In total, 58 murderers were convicted for 50 femicides in between 2007 and 2012.

There were no honour killings in Tekirdag, while 37,2% of the homicides were honor killings in

Diyarbakir (Yilmaz et al, 2015). Honor killings are a consequence of patriarchal family ideology or

family structure. Even though this form of murder is not present in the countries presented above, it

follows the same logic, ending in the same result: femicide. Female homicide is the result of a broader,

more general way of thinking (that men control women, and are superior to them) that infiltrates

cultures and actions, leading to these disastrous statistics and horrible outcomes everywhere in the

world.

After comparing statistics and cultural norms in different countries concerning femicide, we can

conclude that even though cultures can be different, and people can have different backgrounds, some

values and ways of thinking do not change to much from place to place. In all 4 countries displayed

above, we can see general, underlying themes that lead to female homicide: class, gender, economic

status, and the most important and most present one, patriarchal values and systems. This last theme is
the most present in every country and is considered the most decisive cause in femicide. It is present

not only through femicide, but in everyday life, embedded into our culture and every day actions, but is

made most visible through female homicide, thanks to mass media.

References:
Adinkrah, Mensah. "Patriarchal Family Ideology and Female Homicide Victimization in Fiji."
Journal of Comparative Family Studies 32, no. 2 (April/May 2001): 283-301. Accessed October
23, 2016. Social Science Database.
Frye, Victoria, and Susan Wilt. "Femicide and Social Disorganization." Violence Against
Women 7, no. 3 (March 2001): 335-51. Accessed October 23, 2016. Sage.
Vsquez Meja, Ainhoa. "Feminicidios En La Frontera Chilena: El Caso De Alto Hospicio."
Literatura, Teora, Historia, Crtica 18, no. 1 (2016): 53-74. Accessed October 23, 2016.
Yilmaz, E., Bahadir, K., Nergis, C., Zerrin, E., & Ali Mazhar, O. (2015, May 12). Analysis and
comparison of domestic femicide cases in the cities of Diyarbakir and Tekirdag, Turkey: A
preliminary study. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 34, 17-23.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2015.04.018