Femicide

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Femicide is defined as the act of killing a female simply because she is female. Acts of femicide includes “honor killings,” “dowry deaths,” genital mutilation, rape in war and victimization o female refugees. The treatment of women prisoners and detained immigrant women are also related to the issue of femicide. Essentially, femicide is a form of gender-based violence (Stuart van Wormer & Bartollas, 2011). It is considered to be an extreme form of gender-based violence that may include torture, mutilation, cruelty and sexual violence. The violence often culminated to murder. This violence is linked to gender concepts like inequality, discrimination and disempowerment (Femicide, 2008). It is also viewed as “a form of terrorism that functions to define gender lines, enact and bolster male dominance, and to render women chronically and profoundly unsafe” (Suarez, 2009). Based on international federal and state law, women have the right to be free from violence. Overall, acts of femecide are viewed as a violation of the human rights of women (Femicide, 2008).

The major difficult of family violence against women and girls is the fact that such actions are culturally sanctioned. This attachment to culture makes it difficult to prevent and control. Attempts to control such practices con be viewed as infringement on cultural norms and even infringe on cultural identity. Are people merely being ethnocentric about such practices, denouncing them because they are not normal by others standards? There is a lot to consider when attempting to control a cultural practice. Consideration for the cultural relevance of the cultural practice is one of them. The World Health Organization (WHO), whom offers data pertaining to gender-ba...

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.... (2011). Women and the criminal justice system, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Suarez, J. (2009). Guatemala Human Rights Commission / USA fact sheet femicide and feminicide. Retrieved from http://www.ghrc-usa.org/Programs/ForWomensRighttoLive/factsheet_femicide.pdf

References:

Causes and risk factors. (2008). Retrieved from Stop Violence Against Women: http://stopvaw.org/Causes_Contributing_Factors.html

Femicide. (2008). Retrieved from Stop Violence Against Women: http://stopvaw.org/Femicide.html

Stuart Van Wormer, K. & Bartollas, C. (2011). Women and the criminal justice system, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Suarez, J. (2009). Guatemala Human Rights Commission / USA fact sheet femicide and feminicide. Retrieved from http://www.ghrc-usa.org/Programs/ForWomensRighttoLive/factsheet_femicide.pdf

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