Sarah Maier | Sophie Böhler | 24.11.2025

The number of cases of gender-based intimate partner violence has been rising sharply for years, as shown by the latest federal crime statistics; femicide figures also remain alarming. At the same time, limited research hampers clear legal classification. Public debate often focuses on isolated measures rather than a comprehensive strategy against structural violence. Racist and classist narratives further distort the issue by blaming specific social groups, hindering effective prevention and political action.

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Extract

"The general understanding of femicide is based on the definition by sociologist Diana E. H. Russel: femicides are killings of "one or more women by one or more men because they are women."[1] The term therefore describes killings of women and girls in which their gender plays a central role - in contrast to a "robbery-murder", for example. This refers to cases in which women are killed due to sexist or misogynistic attitudes of the perpetrator.

A similar understanding of gender-based violence can also be found in the Vienna Declaration on Femicide, which speaks of the "killing of women and girls because of their gender".[2][3] The killing is a manifestation of a sexist motive. The term also describes the fact that the crime goes hand in hand with gender-based social discrimination against women and girls[4]. This means that these people are not adequately protected due to their marginalization. It also includes attempted killings. Like all forms of gender-based violence, these also have a signaling function for those potentially affected by this form of violence. This is because existing power relations are reasserted in a misogynistic, sexist society.

In order to investigate individual homicides for femicide and to be able to legally assess them, intensive motive research is required. This research has so far been incomplete in Germany."


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[1] Russell, Diana E. H., and Harmes, Roberta. (eds.) 2001 Femicide in Global Perspective. New York: Teachers College Press.

[2] UN, WHO/RHR/12.38, p. 1: "Gender-related killings of women and girls, also known as femicide and feminicide, can be broadly defined as intentional killings committed due to gender-related factors", UNODC / UN WOMEN / UNSTATS (2023), p. 7 [last checked: 03.11.2025].

[3] See also: DIMR (2024): Monitor Violence against Women, p.61 ff.

[4]For the distinction between femicide and femi(ni)cide, see also: Gewaltfrei in die Zukunft (2024): Stop femi(ni)cides! [last checked: 03.11.2025]

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