What will it take to end femicide?

Femicide – the intentional killing of women and girls with a gender-related motivation – affects every society around the world.

According to UN Women, nearly 89,000 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2022 – the highest number recorded in the past 20 years. And over half of all female homicides were committed by family members or intimate partners.

This episode puts a spotlight on this global atrocity. Experts from Italy, Kenya and Mexico share insights on how femicide is impacting their countries. We examine its root causes, how women’s movements are countering it, and what further action is urgently needed to bring about truly lasting change.

While comprehensive legislation is a critical starting point, we hear why challenging gender norms which make misogyny so deeply entrenched in society is fundamental if we are to curb femicide and see transformational change.

Speakers

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI
• Dinah Musindarwezo, Co-CEO, Womankind Worldwide
• Diana Jiménez Thomas Rodriguez, Senior Research Officer, ODI
• Nicoletta Mandolini, Researcher, CECS, Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Related resources

• Gender-related killings of women and girls (femicide/feminicide): Global estimates of female intimate partner/family-related homicides in 2022 (UN Women report)
• 10 ways to transform gender norms (ALIGN booklet)
• Transforming gender norms for women’s economic rights and empowerment (ALIGN report)
• Is no space safe? Working to end gender-based violence in the public sphere (ALIGN briefing paper)
• Mobilising for change: how women’s social movements are transforming gender norms (ALIGN report)
• Think Change podcast: how can we counter the anti-feminist backlash? (ODI)
• From allyship to action: how men can step up to end violence against women (ODI event video/podcast)
• ODI in conversation with Emma Dabiri: can coalitions counter the anti-feminist backlash? (ODI event video/podcast)
• Women's organisations and feminist mobilisation: supporting the foundational drivers of gender equality (ODI briefing paper)

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction (Sara Pantuliano)
• 1:32 Trends in femicide – in Mexico and the world (Diana Jiménez Thomas Rodriguez)
• 3:46 Femicide in Kenya (Dinah Musindarwezo)
• 5:20 Femicide in Italy (Nicoletta Mandolini)
• 7:57 Femicide in Mexico (Diana Jiménez Thomas Rodriguez)
• 10:14 The role of civil society in fighting femicide (Dinah Musindarwezo)
• 15:13 How the media and popular culture influence femicide (Nicoletta Mandolini)
• 19:40 Gender norms as a root cause of femicide, and its relationship with power and masculinity (Diana Jiménez Thomas Rodriguez)
• 22:30 The role of legislation in countering femicide (all guests)
• 31:51 All women subject to forms of discrimination and gender-based violence (Nicoletta Mandolini)
• 33:17 The need for an intersectional approach: indigenous women face highest rates of femicide (Dinah Musindarwezo)
• 34:33 Closing reflections (Sara Pantuliano)