When the Victim Is a Woman

Chapter Four 113 When the Victim is a Woman he demographics of armed violence are and suffering, especially given that violence T often described in general terms. Men— against women seldom occurs as an isolated especially young men—are determined incident. It is often the culmination of escalating to be most likely to kill and be killed. Women, it aggressions that in some cases lead to fatal out- is often said, are affected in different ways: as comes. Moreover, when a woman is killed, there victims, survivors, and often as single heads of are also frequently indirect casualties; perpetra- households. Yet on closer inspection these crude tors sometimes commit suicide while also taking WHEN THE VICTIM IS A WOMAN generalizations are found wanting. This chapter the lives of others, including children, witnesses, unpacks global patterns of armed violence directed and bystanders. Many women who endure abusive against women. It focuses on ‘femicide’—the and violent relationships also commit suicide in killing of a woman—as well as sexual violence order to end their misery. The sharp increase in committed against women during and following reported suicide and self-immolation among Afghan 1 armed conflict. women is attributed to severe forms of psycho- logical, physical, and sexual violence, including 2 Men generally represent a disproportionately forced marriage (MOWA, 2008, pp. 12–13). high percentage of the victims of homicide, while 3 women constitute approximately 10 per cent of The violent killing of any individual is a tragedy 4 homicide victims in Mexico, 23 per cent in the with traumatic knock-on effects; it generates far- United States, and 29 per cent in Australia (INEGI, reaching repercussions that reflect the victim’s 5 2009; FBI, 2010; ABS, 2009). It would be a mis- former role in the family and community. Many take, however, to underestimate the gravity of assessments examining the social and economic homicidal violence committed against women. costs of armed violence highlight the lost produc- In the United States, for example, homicide was tivity of wage-earning men in the formal economy reportedly the second leading cause of death for (Geneva Declaration Secretariat, 2008; Florquin, women of all races aged 15–24 between 1999 and 2006). In contrast, the implications of femicide 1 2007 (CDC, n.d.a). and sexual violence on the female workforce and Men are also more commonly involved in perpe- wider labour market are rarely considered. Yet there trating homicide and sexual violence; the perpe- is growing evidence that a culture of violence can trators of serious violence against women are contribute to the ‘feminization of poverty’, further frequently current or former partners (Geneva marginalizing women in society (Pearce, 1978). Declaration Secretariat, 2008; BJS, 2005). Yet More broadly, armed violence—and especially statistical estimates of femicide and sexual vio- violence against women—constitutes a serious lence conceal complex patterns of victimization challenge for development. 114 While femicide and sexual violence are prevalent text of widespread tolerance of sexual violence in the domestic sphere, this chapter finds that and a high level of impunity (Peterman, Palermo, women are exposed to many other forms of vio- and Bredenkamp, 2011).2 Indeed, a study conducted lence—from gang violence to robberies and stray by the World Health Organization in selected 2011 bullets. They are also often singled out for hate countries reveals that adolescent girls frequently crimes, particularly when they are categorized as experience the practice of forced sex initiation migrants and refugees (Freedman and Jamal, 2008, (WHO, 2002, p. 153); this finding suggests wide- pp. 13–19). Guatemala and Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez spread acceptance and impunity of violence exhibit staggering numbers of women victims and against women and girls. exceptional brutality. In these contexts, intimate Femicide is an important component of armed vio- partner violence accounts for a relatively small lence and includes violence in the domestic sphere, ARMED VIOLENCE VIOLENCE ARMED proportion of femicides (Suarez and Jordan, 2007); such as that perpetrated by intimate partners and of many women are victims of the increasingly wide- strangers. This chapter seeks to disaggregate the spread violence related to organized crime and demographics of armed violence and capture the narco-trafficking, which affects the entire popu- ways in which women of different ages are at risk. lation (Molloy, 2010). Furthermore, according to Specifically, the chapter finds that: a group of Mexican NGOs: impunity and government permissiveness, which In the 111 countries and territories under review, an annual average of 44,000 women GLOBAL BURDEN BURDEN GLOBAL serves as a crude expression of institutional violence, have led to a multiplication in the became homicide victims in 2004–09. number of women murdered throughout the Roughly 66,000 women are violently killed country and this can be attributed to a lack of around the world each year, accounting for due diligence (RNOCDH, 2010, p. 4). approximately 17 per cent of total intentional homicides. In such areas, an exclusive focus on femicide may limit the understanding of a broader picture of On average, men are killed approximately five extreme violence, which reveals major ‘systemic times more frequently than women. failures’ (Eriksson Baaz and Stern, 2010, p. 12; Femicides generally occur in the domestic A UNIFIED APPROACH). sphere; the perpetrator is the current or former partner in just under half of the cases. The social, cultural, and political risk factors for femicide and sexual violence are widely debated. Countries featuring high homicide rates in Analysts frequently point to cultures of ‘machismo’ the male population also typically experience that can distort traditional gender roles and high femicide rates. encourage constraints on the freedom of girls High levels of femicide are frequently accom- and women, misogynist behaviour, and recurring panied—and in some cases generated by—a violence with impunity. In many war zones, rape high level of tolerance for violence against has been used as ‘a weapon of mass destruction’ women. (UNDP, 2008, p. 2). Assessments of sexual violence In countries where violence is widespread, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo indicate the rate of victimization of women reaches that mass rapes and atrocities committed against levels far above the average risk of domestic women during periods of fighting occur in a con- violence. In some countries that exhibit low homicide female victim’, thus avoiding an exclusive, narrow 115 rates, the percentage of female victims is interpretation of intent, such as the targeting of similar to that of male victims. females because of their sex. The wider definition allows for a focus on all women, in recognition of This chapter considers the particular settings their right to live free from violence under inter- and risks shaping femicide and sexual violence. national law. This context calls for the provision The first section provides an overview of femicide of objective information on incidents of violence on the basis of available statistics, including the against women, including baseline indicators incidence, the relationship between victim and against which to assess the effectiveness of offender, and instruments used. The second sec- measures to prevent violence and respond to tion considers the characteristics and dynamics offenders. of homicide involving female victims. The third Fortunately, sex-disaggregated statistics are section examines other forms of lethal and non- increasingly available in key sectors relating to lethal violence against women, including dowry population, school enrolment, employment, deaths, ‘honour’ killings, ritual killings, and lethal and parliamentary representation (UN, 2010a). WHEN THE VICTIM IS A WOMAN practices associated with witchcraft, as well as Notwithstanding widespread improvements, the the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in conflict and production of valid and reliable gender statistics post-conflict settings. in many areas of public and private life—including in relation to violence—still falls short of international standards. Countries face numerous 1 challenges in generating disaggregated statis- Disaggregating homicide by sex 2 tics on femicide and sexual violence, including One useful way of measuring the extent of lethal the following: 3 violence perpetrated against women is by disaggregating homicide statistics by sex. Yet since 4 the under-development of basic concepts, such data is simply not readily available in many definitions, and methods limits data 5 settings, analysts may be required to identify and collection; generate additional information to supplement overall homicide data. Even when such analysis the absence of agreed international standards is pursued, police reports and files may not sat- and coding systems reduces comparability; isfactorily record the sex of the victim or critical limited capacity and resources to invest in information on the context in which a given event data collection results in an over-reliance on occurred. Although a growing number of countries qualitative outputs; are committed to maintaining sex-disaggregated the lack of detail in available statistics leads information, internationally comparable data to under-diagnosis; remains scarce.3 the reliance on mixed-quality data from dif- The 2011 Global Burden of Armed Violence com- ferent sources (such

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