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Femicide

Femicide is a hate crime broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female."

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All Content on this topic

Protesters holding up a banner reading 'Femicide is no singular incident'

Partner violence is often deadly in Germany

A woman is killed by a partner or ex-partner every two days in Germany. Activists say the state fails to fight femicide.
PoliticsNovember 8, 2024
Pictures of unindentified murder victims

Interpol seeks public assistance to crack cold case murders

The bodies of the 46 women were found across six European countries as many as 40 years ago.
CrimeOctober 8, 2024
Demonstrators in Paris show their support for Gisele Pelicot in September

Gender-based violence: What's being done to protect women?

Gisele Pelicot's mass rape and other abuse cases have sparked outrage. What's being done to stop gender-based violence?
SocietyOctober 6, 2024
A young woman in Tehran walks past a mural of the Statue of Liberty next to the former US embassy

Femicide in Iran: Tradition and law enable killing of women

The death of Mahsa Amini shook Iran and the world, but the killing of women for "honor" is often overlooked in Iran.
Human RightsSeptember 16, 2024
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya

Uganda: Alleged killer of Olympic athlete dies from burns

The former partner of Rebecca Cheptegei has died in hospital from burns incurred when he allegedly set her on fire.
CrimeSeptember 10, 2024
Ungarn | IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest | Rebecca Cheptegei

Ugandan athlete dies after being set on fire

Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died from burns following an alleged attack by her boyfriend in Kenya.
CrimeSeptember 5, 202402:31 min
DW Sendung Afrimaxx

Afrimaxx - Modern African Lifestyle

Boxing against femicide, decolonizing the view of Africa, and dancing away from drugs and gangs.
LifestyleJuly 17, 202426:03 min
DW Sendung Afrimaxx | Fatuma Zarika Portrait Fatuma Zarika in training room with red boxing gloves in attack position.

How a Kenyan trains women boxing against femicide

Boxing is typically viewed as a male dominated sport, but in Kenya, one woman is flipping the script.
SportsJuly 17, 202405:16 min
Volunteers retrieve a wrapped corpse from a dumpsite in Mukuru slums, in Nairobi, Kenya

Kenya police arrest suspected serial killer

Kenyan police say a 33-year-old suspect has confessed to mutilating and killing dozens of women.
CrimeJuly 15, 202401:48 min
a girl holding up her hands to protect her face from blows

Germany sees dramatic rise in domestic violence

Every day, 700 people in Germany experience violence at the hands of their partners or family members.
SocietyJune 8, 2024
A woman holds up a placard that reads 'Respect my existence or expect my resistance'

Femicide in Kosovo: Why do women keep being killed?

Kosovars have been outraged by recent news of two femicides in five days, leading to growing calls for effective action.
SocietyMay 10, 2024
Kenya is seeing rising cases of violence against women, with more than a dozen women and girls killed in recent weeks.

Kenya: Thousands protest violence against women

Kenya has seen a rise in cases of violence against women, with more than a dozen women and girls killed in recent weeks.
SocietyFebruary 1, 202403:59 min
Protesters in Kenya's capital Nairobi hold banners in a protest

Kenyan women march against femicide

According to Kenyan media, at least 14 women have been killed in gender-based violence so far in 2024.
Human RightsJanuary 27, 2024
Elfenbeinküste Afrika-Cup Spiel Tunesien vs Namibia

AfricaLink on Air - 17 January 2024

Latest on AFCON +++ Africa's football kings Morocco play against Tanzania
PoliticsJanuary 17, 202429:46 min
Symbolbild I Gewalt gegen Frauen in Afrika

Concerns over growing femicide in Africa

Concerns over systematic killing of women by their partners
SocietyDecember 13, 202320:00 min
Interpol's campaign "Identify me" banner

German police have new leads in cold cases of slain women

Police in Germany hope to finally bring justice for 22 women murdered in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
CrimeAugust 29, 2023
Sports Life Produktion Soledad Vargas

Soledad Vargas - Fighting against femicide

Soledad Vargas is a mother of three kids and a boxing champion from Mexico, where she is fighting against femicide, too.
SocietyAugust 4, 202312:35 min
Protesters hold up placards during a demonstration against violence against women in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 31, 2023

Bulgaria: Mass protests highlight violence against women

The brutal assault on an 18-year-old woman and the leniency shown to her assailant sparked protests across Bulgaria.
Law and JusticeAugust 4, 2023
Film still from Dorpie: Community worker Lana O’Neill smiles.

A South African street worker's fight against violence

"Dorpie" director Julia Jaki accompanied a street worker as she fights to protect women from gender-based brutality.
FilmMay 5, 2023
Marta Perez und Matias Perez, the mother and brother of Lucia Perez, take part in a demonstration for women's rights in her name

Argentina: Two men jailed in landmark teenage murder case

Lucia Perez's rape and murder in 2016 triggered anger and led to the first-ever national women's strike in Argentina.
CrimeMarch 24, 2023
Deutschland Oladoyin Olatunbosun von Kampagne "Advokat"

Opinion: Let women who experience violence talk about it

Oladoyin Olatunbosun
Survivors of gendered violence should be encouraged to speak about their experiences, writes DW's Oladoyin Olatunbosun.
Human RightsNovember 25, 2022
A woman holds up a poster and shouts with her hand raised at a protest in Delhi in 2022

India is undercounting as the UN seeks femicide stats

Here's why India is likely to come up short in the UN's global femicide tracking.
Human RightsNovember 25, 2022
A woman holds up a fist during feminist protests in Paris

UN report: 5 women killed every hour by family member

More than half of the women and girls murdered last year were killed by a partner of a close relative, UN data showed.
Human RightsNovember 23, 2022
People take part in a protest demanding justice after the death of Ariadna Fernanda Lopez

Mexico: Prosecutor accused of covering up woman's murder

The mayor of Mexico City accused Morelos state authorities of botching the investigation
Law and JusticeNovember 8, 2022
Handwritten notes are displayed near the entrance to a female lavatory at Sindang Station in Seoul on September 19, 2022

Seoul subway killing sparks calls for new laws

Women complain that weak laws put them at risk from assailants who do not consider women their equals.
SocietyOctober 6, 2022
Entwicklungsministerin Schulze in Bolivien

Bolivia's women activists get support from Germany

Violence against women is very prevalent in Bolivia. Many victims become activists and Germany has vowed support.
Human RightsAugust 24, 2022
A woman is hiding from a man with a fist

Rising gender violence in Middle East

Two femicides in Jordan and Egypt have sparked a debate about women's rights, as well as calls for increased protection.
PoliticsJuly 1, 2022
Murder of Pinar Gultekin woman sparks nationwide protests

Turkey faces up to femicide

Femicide and violence against women are serious problems in Turkey. All eyes are now on two court rulings.
Human RightsJune 19, 2022
Mural of a smialing woman surrounded by other people and enclosed in a body of water

Conference on diverse feminist forms of protest worldwide

What concerns feminists in India or in Africa? The festival "Frequencies. Sharing Feminisms" provides answers.
CultureMay 19, 2022
DW Podcast | Inside Europe | provisorisch f ROAD

Inside Europe 21.04.2022

Critics slam the UK’S plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda - The German chancellor under fire over weapons for Ukraine - Concern in Moldova that it, too, is in Russia’s crosshairs - Protests in Turkey as the authorities seek to silence a women’s rights group - And On the Green Fence: How clean is the River Rhine
PoliticsApril 21, 202254:59 min
An empty field with low, dry bushes that serves as a graveyard of "honor killing" victims in Sindh, Pakistan

Pakistan's graveyard of femicide victims

Women accused of adultery are killed in the name of "honor" in some parts of Pakistan's Sindh province.
SocietyMarch 4, 202203:04 min
Paris - The march "Nous toutes" at the call of many associations, unions and political parties, against violence against women takes place in Paris

France vows action on femicide after 3 more women killed

Activists have criticized the government's inability to rein in deadly domestic violence.
CrimeJanuary 4, 2022
Demonstrators pull down a police security fence during a protest marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Istanbul

Turkish police fire tear gas at women's march

Police have used tear gas to disperse a crowd of demonstrators protesting gender-based violence in Istanbul.
Human RightsNovember 26, 2021
A silhoutte of a woman.

HRW: Gender-based violence remains rampant in South Africa

Human Rights Watch says authorities desperately need to do more to address the violence, particularly amid the pandemic.
SocietyNovember 25, 2021
A man stands with his legs spread out as a woman cowers

A daily nightmare: Violence against women

Every two-and-a-half days, a woman in Germany dies at the hand of her partner or ex-partner.
SocietyNovember 25, 2021
Activist at 2019 International Women's Day event in Istanbul

Turkey to pull out of Istanbul Convention

The framework was drawn up to protect women from physical abuse, among other things. But Turkey wants out.
PoliticsJune 30, 2021
Women hold signs in a protest against Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.

Women rally in Istanbul before rights treaty formal exit

Protesters have called on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.
Human RightsJune 19, 2021
Crosses set up in protest at murders of women in Guatemala

In Guatemala, women fear for their lives

At least 160 women have been killed in the first four months of 2021 in Guatemala — more than one per day.
Human RightsMay 2, 2021
Female protesters in Istanbul, Turkey

Turkey slammed for leaving treaty protecting women

Thousands protested across Turkey against the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on women's rights.
Human RightsMarch 21, 2021
Police with riot shields face off mostly female protesters in Istanbul

Turkey quits accord on violence against women

President Erdogan sparked protests by deciding to pull out of the convention which aims to protect women from violence.
Human RightsMarch 20, 2021
Women march on the Unter den Linden street in company with police during a demonstration to mark the International Women's Day near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

Women's Day rallies highlight inequality amid pandemic

Women around the world marked the International Women's day with protests against amplified gender inequality.
Human RightsMarch 8, 20216 images
Demonstrators face off against police in Istanbul during a march condemning violence against women

How many femicides in Turkey are covered up as suicides?

Last year, 300 women were murdered in Turkey. The number could be far higher as many femicides are labeled suicides. 
CrimeMarch 3, 2021
Women and girls riding bicycles take part in a protest to demand justice for the murder of girls at Constitution Square in Guatemala City

World in Progress: Justice in Guatemala

They have come up against powerful opponents who tried to have them killed. But they refuse to be dominated by fear.
Human RightsFebruary 17, 202117:34 min
Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Pierluisi speaks at a press conference on January 5

Puerto Rico declares state of emergency over femicides

The declaration allows for more resources and a special representative to be appointed to combat gender-based violence.
PoliticsJanuary 25, 2021
Symbolbild Beerdigung

Germany sees high numbers in femicide

Every day in Germany a man tries to kill his partner or ex-partner. One in three attempts is successful.
SocietyNovember 25, 2020
A woman with a pink cross on his forehead takes part in a protest to demand justice for Isabel Cabanillas

World in Progress: Women vs. murder in Ciudad Juarez

Women in Cuidad Juarez are now very publicly fighting back against violence to push for change.
Human RightsNovember 19, 202016:26 min
Crosses placed in memory of victims of feminicide in Ciudad Juarez

World in Progress: What does it take?

How do you survive in a country where gang violence and sky-high murder rates are rampant?
Human RightsNovember 19, 202030:00 min
Inside Europe July 31 podcast

Inside Europe: 31.07.2020

US to withdraw or relocate more troops in Germany than previously thought — COVID-19 infections across Europe spike — Germany advises against travel to some Spanish hotspots — Britain quarantines returning holidaymakers — Turkish anti-government protests over response to violence against women — and more!
PoliticsJuly 31, 202054:59 min
A demonstration in Turkey against violence against women

Turkey's long history of femicides

The murder of Turkish student Pinar Gültekin by her ex-boyfriend sparked outrage, as the government in Ankara looks on.
CrimeJuly 24, 2020
A men's group meeting of Hombres Negocios in Mexico City

Mexican men push to end violence against women

Stay-at-home measures are being touted as a chance for men to take part in housework as femicide is on the rise.
SocietyJune 28, 2020