The ERTNews correspondents in the major European capitals give us the picture that prevails in France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Britain.
In France, threats and prosecutions for domestic violence are treated as a priority for the police and judicial authorities. But intra-family tragedies are not significantly reduced. Each year, a femicide takes place every 3 days, on average, in France. According to the Ministry of Justice, the country listed 94 femicides in 2023 compared to 118 in 2022.
In Germany of 80 million inhabitants, one woman dies every three days, at the hands of her partner or ex-partner. And every day there is an attempted femicide. The German penal code does not provide for a separate offense of femicide. He is treating it as manslaughter and causing bodily harm resulting in death.
The statistic shows that female victims of their partners range from 135 in 2015 to 113 in 2021. But because gender-based violence is not defined as a crime, systematic monitoring is difficult. And the official figures are only the tip of the iceberg.
In Spain, the law on sexist violence has been in force for twenty years, which increases the penalty when the victim of a homicide is a woman.
And this is because it is considered to be a form of violence directed against women solely because they are women. The law is considered groundbreaking and is different from the Domestic Violence Act. Victims are protected with the national line that leaves no traces, with free access to public centers for abused women, with psychological and legal support, shelter, food, even work but most of all confidentiality. Since 2003 when figures are recorded, femicides in Spain have reached 1,247.
Italy: Scourge of femicides – One every four days
In Italy, with an average of about 1 murder every 4 days, femicides are a literal scourge, each time with great public concern. With a recent example of the murder of 22-year-old Julia Cechetin by her same-age ex-partner last November, the data speaks for itself. For 2023, the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs recorded 113 femicides by intent, while this year, in the first two months of 2024, 20 femicides were recorded, of which 18 were in the family/emotional sphere, and of these 8 were at the hands of the partner/ their former partner.
The EU is one step closer to the first law to tackle violence against women and domestic violence following the political agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament. When the proceedings are completed both genital mutilation and forced marriage will be criminalised. The same category includes the sharing of personal photos without consent, as well as the incitement of hatred and violence online. There was a dispute about the rape. Also, there should be special centers such as rape centers, but also a national line to which the victims will turn.
In the UK on average one woman is killed by a man every three days. However, there is no definition of femicide in criminal law. A signature collection in 2021 to criminalize femicide was rejected on the grounds that it was unclear what it was asking Parliament to do as murder is already a crime. The number of women killed by men varies between 124 and 168 per year. On average, 62% of these women have been killed by a current or former partner.
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