Acknowledgments This publication provides an overview of a conference on femicide convened jointly by PATH, the Inter-American Alliance for the Prevention of Gender-based Violence (InterCambios), the Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Washington, DC, April 14–16, 2008. The conference brought together activists, researchers, and forensic professionals from 13 countries, with the aim of identifying common ground for strengthening research and galvanizing global action to prevent femicide and end the impunity so often granted to perpetrators. We are extremely grateful for their participation and willingness to share their experiences with femicide research and activism in this forum. (The meeting agenda can be found in Annex A, and the list of participants in Annex B.) Monique Widyono (PATH) developed the framework, background paper, and matrix of femicide studies for the conference, and was primarily responsible for its organization. Naeema Abrahams and Shanaaz Mathews (both of MRC), Mary Ellsberg (formerly of PATH), and Margarita Quintanilla and Yamileth Molina (both of PATH/InterCambios) provided invaluable guidance in shaping the framework and background paper and co- facilitating discussions during the technical working group sessions. InterCambios was also responsible for a preliminary matrix of studies in Latin America, which formed the basis of the final matrix. Claudia Garcia- Moreno (WHO) and Jacquelyn Campbell (Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing) provided additional guidance on the framework and background paper. An opening panel discussion for the meeting was co-sponsored by the Interagency Gender Working Group (IGWG) of the US Agency for International Development. The presentations are available at www. alianzaintercambios.org and www.igwg.org. ii Strengthening The opinions presented in this report are those of the respective authors, Understanding and do not necessarily represent the views of their organizations or other of Femicide organizations associated with the meeting. This report is dedicated to the memory of the countless femicide victims around the world, and in recognition of the efforts of activists working to ensure their stories are heard, their names are remembered, and justice is achieved for their murders. Information about PATH can be found at www.path.org Information about InterCambios can be found at www.alianzaintercambios.org Information about MRC can be found at www.mrc.ac.za Information about WHO can be found at www.who.int Information about IGWG can be found at www.igwg.org Cover photos reprinted with permission from Soledad Rojas and Kena Lorenzini (campaigns by the Chilean network Red Chilena Contra la Violencia Doméstica y Sexual), and the Southern African Media and Gender Institute (SAMGI), and the International Campaign against Honour Killings.. Copyright © 2009, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), InterCambios, Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC), and World Health Organization (WHO). Strengthening iii Understanding of Femicide Table of Contents Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................ii Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................vi Introduction .........................................................................................................................1 Background and Overview ........................................................................................................................2 Conceptualizing Femicide .........................................................................................................................7 Monique Widyono Femicide: Politicizing the Killing of Females .................................................................................... 26 Diana E. H. Russell, PhD What Do We Know: Current Research on the Prevalence of Femicide ..........................32 “Every Six Hours”: Intimate Femicide in South Africa .....................................................................33 Shanaaz Mathews (Presentation of a study co-authored by Naeema Abrahams, Rachel Jewkes, Carl Lombard, Lorna Martin, Lisa van der Merwe, and Lisa Vetten) Femicide in Central America 2000–2006 ............................................................................................39 Ana Carcedo (Presentation of a study co-authored by Almachiara D’Angelo, Morena Herrera, Mirta Kennedy, Giovana Lemus, Susi Pola, and Urania Ungo) Femicide in Jamaica .................................................................................................................................. 45 Glendene Lemard, PhD Feminicide in the Dominican Republic .............................................................................................. 49 María Jesús (Susi) Pola Z. Who is at Risk: Understanding Risk Factors for Femicide Victimization and Perpetration ..56 Risk Factors for Femicide and Femicide-Suicide: A Multisite Case Control Study ...........................57 Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD (Presentation of a study co-authored by Carolyn Block, Doris Campbell, Mary Ann Curry, Victoria Frye, Faye Gary, Nancy Glass, Jane Koziol-McLain, Kathryn Laughon, Jennifer Manganello, Judith McFarlane, Carolyn Sachs, Janet Schollenberger, Phyllis Sharps, Yvonne Ulrich, Susan A. Wilts, and Xiao Xu) Murder in Britain Study: The Murder of Women ........................................................................................ 66 Rebecca Emerson Dobash, PhD, and Russell P. Dobash, PhD Spousal Conflict and Uxoricide in Canada ................................................................................................... 73 Margo Wilson, PhD, and Martin Daly, PhD Closing Gaps and Galvanizing Action for Accountability Around all Forms of Femicide .....77 An Analysis of Feminicide in Ciudad Juárez: 1993–2007 ......................................................................... 78 Julia E. Monárrez Fragoso, PhD Honor-Related Crimes in Jordan ..................................................................................................................... 84 Rana Husseini Dowry Deaths (Bride Burnings) in India ........................................................................................................ 89 Virendra Kumar, MD Femicide in Chile................................................................................................................................................... 95 Soledad Rojas Bravo Annexes Annex A Meeting Agenda ..................................................................................................................... 102 Annex B List and Biographies of Participants .................................................................................106 Acronyms and Abbreviations AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome CCJS Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics FBI US Federal Bureau of Investigation HIV Human immunodeficiency virus IGWG Interagency Gender Working Group InterCambios Inter-American Alliance for the Prevention of Gender-based Violence Latin American Alliance for Gender-based Violence Prevention and Health MRC South African Medical Research Council NHMP National Homicide Monitoring Program PATH Program for Appropriate Technology in Health SHR Supplemental Homicide Report WHO World Health Organization vi Introduction Strengthening 1 Understanding of Femicide Background and Overview Background Violence against women has received increasing international attention as a public health and human rights concern. However, femicide, one of its extreme manifestations, is still not well understood. While a number of studies have been conducted, mainly in high-resource areas, reliable and globally comparable data on its nature and prevalence remain scarce. Femicide has been addressed in different contexts, including intimate- partner violence, stranger violence, rape and other sexual violence, and honor and dowry practices, as well as murders associated with gang activity and political violence. A number of definitions have been proposed by researchers and activists, leading to methodological differences in the collection and interpretation of data. In addition, a range of methodologies has been used in different contexts to collect data on femicide, including population-based studies; analysis of service records; homicide, police, hospital, court, and mortuary statistics; domestic fatality reviews; verbal autopsies; and review of newspaper articles. Each methodology has advantages and disadvantages with respect to the ease with which data can be collected, the rigor of the data, and the use of data in advocacy efforts. In April 2008, PATH convened a first-of-its-kind conference on femicide, frequently referred to as “the gender-based murder of women” or “the murder of women because they are women.” The conference, “Strengthening Understanding of Femicide,” was co-sponsored by the Latin American Alliance for Gender-based Violence Prevention and Health (InterCambios), the South African Medical Research Council, and the World Health Organization. It brought together activists, researchers, and forensic professionals from Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican 2 Introduction Republic, England, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Mexico, Nicaragua, South Africa, and the United States, who collectively represent the most current research and groundbreaking advocacy on