Femicide as a criminal offence?

Introduction

On 26 November 2025, the Italian parliament unanimously voted to make femicide – the murder of a woman, motivated by gender - a criminal offence, punishable by life imprisonment^[1]. This legal reform has shed light on the prevalence of violence against women and the adequacy of legal protection from such violence. As it stands, England and Wales do not recognise femicide as an offence distinct from other forms of homicide. A case can be put forward that this crime should be introduced into the law, to highlight and differentiate gender-based murders, acknowledging the gender-based motive amidst the broader context of violence against women. However, concerns can be raised in relation to the workability and practical effect of femicide laws.

The background – Giulia and gender-based violence against women

The murder of Giulia Cecchettin in November 2023 by her ex-boyfriend, Filippo Turetta, under particularly horrific circumstances^[2] sparked this Italian legal reform. Cecchettin was stabbed more than 70 times, with Turetta later explaining to the Italian court that he planned to kill her after she refused to get back together with him. The murder led to widespread protests around Italy, culminating in the legislature’s approval of femicide as a crime.

Violence against women is not unique to Italy. Across the world, women face disproportionately higher rates of violence, particularly within the private setting. A survey taken across the EU in 2021 found that 30% of women over the age of 15 experienced some form of physical violence and/or sexual violence^[3]. Violence against women can take many forms, including physical, psychological and sexual violence, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, harrasment and ‘honour-based’ abuse^[4]. Violence against women has also moved into the digital sphere; with the rise of advanced technology and AI, deepfakes and AI-generated pornography have become increasingly prevalent forms of cyberviolence^[5].

Great strides have been taken on both legislative and social levels to tackle this. The #MeToo social movement, originating in the US and gaining worldwide traction in 2017^[6], empowered women to raise awareness around sexual assault and harassment, drawing media and public attention to this issue. On a legislative level, in recent years, the UK’s Parliament has implemented several laws aimed at addressing violence against women. Notable examples include the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which widened the statutory definition of domestic abuse to include non-physical acts of abuse, including controlling or coercive behavior, and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (also termed ‘Clare’s Law’), which allows the police under certain circumstances to disclose information about a person’s history of domestic abuse or violent offences. At the time of writing, Parliament is also considering proposed amendments to the Online Safety Act 2023 that would make it illegal to ask an AI tool to artificially create pornographic images^[7]. Amidst this host of legal reforms, the question can be raised as to whether femicide should be introduced into the law as another means of addressing violence against women.

The case for femicide

Before we begin to establish the arguments in favour of femicide, a preliminary question should be set out: What is femicide, and how is it different from regular homicide? The term ‘femicide’ was popularised by feminist scholar Diana Russell in 1976, defining it as “the killing of females by males because they are female”^[8]. This is a wide definition, with Russell explicitly stating that it includes not just the direct killing of females, but also what she terms “covert” killing, including when women are forbidden from accessing contraception or abortion services. The choice of the word ‘female’ as opposed to ‘women’ is a deliberate one, widening the definition to include girls and female babies as victims of femicide. Most significantly, Russell’s definition gave the term a political dimension, allowing femicide’s modern definition to sit within the broader feminist framework challenging violence against women^[9].

Femicide cannot properly be understood as a homicide with a female victim; it is unique in the sense that it stems from an intrinsic element of gender-based violence. Whilst a female homicide merely indicates that a woman has been killed, femicide denotes that a woman has been killed for gender-based reasons. Femicide itself can be sub-divided. In Latin America, amongst countries that have criminalised this offence, four main categories of femicide are generally accepted^[10].  Firstly is intimate femicides, which are committed by a man with whom the victim had an intimate relationship, family relationship, or domestic partnership. Secondly are non-intimate femicides, which are the reverse, committed by a man who has had no intimate, family, or domestic relationship with the victim. Thirdly, accidental femicides, which involves the killing of a woman who sought to intervene or was caught in a femicide action. Fourthly, sexual femicides, which are killings that are preceded by sexual abuse. These categories are not universally accepted. Other methods of classification have been put forward, including, for example, by the European Institute for Gender Equality, who proposed a classification system separating femicide categories based on whether the killing was intentional and on the perpetrator (i.e. an intimate partner, family member, non-family member, sexually-exploited or trafficking related killing)^[11]. What these inform us is that a myriad of factors can underpin femicide, including intentionality, the perpetrator, and whether sexual abuse also occured.

Why introduce femicide, when homicide laws already exist that cover the crime? The purpose of designating this as a specific criminal offence is twofold. First, harsher sentences can be imposed for perpetrators of femicide than a standard homicide. A rebuttal to this justification is that the existing law on homicide can simply be amended at the sentencing stage, so that homicides motivated by gender carry heavier sentences. This is where the second purpose behind femicide comes into play, these laws do not just carry harsher punishments, but serve as recognition, visibility, and accountability for perpetrators of violence against women specifically. Proponents of femicide argue that the offence sanctions offenders more appropriately and achieves the wider goal of improving prevention and awareness of violence against women. A criminal offence acts as a deterrent and simultaneously raises awareness of the issue that women are being killed based on their gender. Femicide has been described as “the most brutal manifestation of gender-based violence”^[12]. Arguably, allowing it to fall under the general classification of homicide erases the gender-based motive behind the crime. Femicides are based on a structure of gender-based violence against women rather than isolated incidents, and a distinct femicide law serves as a recognition of this pattern.

A separate legal category for femicides also has the added benefit of improving data collection, which could aid preventative efforts. A separate classification allows for accurate measurements of gender-based killings to be taken. Analysis of femicide cases could be used to identify risk factors, and the relevant authorities can use this data to introduce measures to directly tackle these factors. 

Femicide laws globally

Italy is not the first nor the only country to criminalise femicide, being one of thirty countries with specific femicide laws enacted. Many of these countries are in Latin America, having been implemented in this region after widely-publicised horrific murders of women and the resulting public outcry. Mexico was the first country in 2012 to implement femicide as a distinct criminal offence at a federal level, giving it a legal definition; Article 325 of the Código Penal Federal defines the crime as the “killing of a woman for a reason related to gender…”. Other countries, including Peru and Ecuador, soon followed suit, in 2013 and 2014 respectively^[13]. Europe has been relatively slower to introduce femicide laws, there are currently four countries with a legal definition of femicide in their criminal codes: Cyprus, Malta, Croatia and Italy^[14], all of which introduced these definitions within the past four years.

England does not recognise femicide as a distinct offence, nor is it designated as an aggravating factor that can increase a perpetrator’s sentence. Statutory aggravating factors include an offence being motivated by religion, race, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity, but notably an offence motivated by gender is missing from this list. The perpetrator having a history of violence or abuse towards the victim, including coercive or controlling behaviour, is an aggravating factor, however, the scope of this factor is far narrower than an offence committed due to hostility against the victim’s gender. An argument can be made that this aggravating factor is sufficient: where there has been a history of domestic violence against a victim, in which gendered patterns are generally well-known within this context, this must be taken into account when sentencing. However, the argument can also be put forward that this aggravating factor does not go far enough. Though domestic abuse and coercive control is recognised as a gendered issue, this provision does not specifically assign a gender to the victim. This links back to the argument that failing to explicitly assign a gender-based motivation to the crime amounts to legal erasure of the reality of violence against women.

There is a clear impetus for a legally binding framework that explicitly acknowledges femicide as a manifestation of violence against women. With other countries beginning to implement such laws, the significance of England following suit would allow for a global framework to “create uniform standards, facilitate international cooperation, provide a basis for international monitoring and reporting, and enhance accountability”^[15].

Nothing more than a symbol?

A major obstacle facing femicide is a practical one: it can be extremely difficult to determine. Even if a homicide is established, there is often little information that can be ascertained in relation to the perpetrator’s motive, and it may be challenging in practice to prove that the offence was motivated based on gender. The core of femicide is the gender-based intent behind the crime, so an argument against femicide therefore is that on an evidentiary level, it may be difficult for the requisite intent to be proven.

A second argument against femicide is that it amounts to not much more than a symbol. A recent study on the effectiveness of femicide laws in Mexico revealed two key findings^[16]. Firstly, despite it being more than a decade after femicide laws were introduced, there have been no reductions in the number of homicides of women in the country. Secondly, roughly 50% of femicides have been misclassified as homicides in Mexico’s official data. The result of this study paints a bleak picture of the effectiveness of femicide laws, suggesting that not only have they failed in their aim of reducing killings of women, but the misclassifications also undermined the procedural benefit of having accurate data on violence against women. A strong criticism of femicide is that its designation as a distinct offence is symbolic only, and in effect makes no practical difference in combating violence against women.

Femicide, by its very nature, only comes into play after the victim has been killed. If femicide laws serve no other purpose than a symbolic one, arguably resources would be better spent on preventative action. However, if properly recorded, femicide would provide the government with accurate statistics of homicides against women, and this data can be used to inform targeted preventative measures to tackle the issue. Ultimately, violence against women is systemic, hence a broader shift in culture is necessary to combat it. The issue should be addressed at all stages, from prevention, early intervention, police action, and finally, in the criminal process. Introducing femicide as a crime allows for formal legal recognition, and when accurately recorded, provides the government with data, but it can only do so much in isolation. A comprehensive framework at all levels will need to be implemented to address violence against women.

Conclusion

On average, more than five women or girls around the world are killed every hour by someone in their own family.^[17] This is a deeply disturbing statistic. It is clear that measures need to be taken to address the issue of violence against women, which is rooted in gender inequality at a systemic level. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by gender-motivated killings, particularly at an intimate partner level in a private setting. Femicide serves the purpose of distinguishing gender-based violence from individual incidents of homicide, and entailing harsher sentences to act as a deterrent. Though the effectiveness of femicide laws can be called into question, one must bear in mind that it sits at one end of the spectrum, only coming into play after a murder has been committed. For violence against women to be tackled, femicide laws must work in conjunction with prevention and early intervention. Implementing femicide as a criminal offence would send a clear message that efforts are being made to tackle violence against women, and legislators should give the matter serious consideration.

^[1] Sarah Rainsford, ‘Italian Parliament Unanimously Votes to Make Femicide a Crime’ (BBC News, 26 November 2025) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dzp050yn2o> accessed 19 January 2026

^[2] Angela Giuffrida, ‘Man Jailed for Life for Murder of University Student That Horrified Italy’ (The Guardian, 3 December 2024) <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/03/man-jailed-for-life-for-of-university-student-giulia-cecchettin-that-horrified-italy> accessed 19 January 2026

^[3] Ionel Zamfir, ‘Violence against women in the EU’ (European Parliamentary Research Service, June 2025) <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/772921/EPRS_BRI(2025)772921_EN.pdf> accessed 19 January 2026

^[4] ‘About Honour Based Abuse’ (Karma Nirvana) <https://karmanirvana.org.uk/get-help/about-honour-based-abuse/> accessed 19 January 2026

^[5] Beth Alaw Williams, ‘Grok AI Deepfake Victim Says UK Government Should Have Acted Faster’ (BBC News, 14 January 2026) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98p4214577o> accessed 19 January 2026

^[6] Michelle Kaufman et al., ‘#MeToo and Google Inquiries Into Sexual Violence: A Hashtage Campaign Can Sustain Information Seeking’ (2021) J Interpers Violence 36(19-20)9857 <https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7035980/> accessed 19 January 2026

^[7] Beth Alaw Williams, ‘Grok AI Deepfake Victim Says UK Government Should Have Acted Faster’ (BBC News, 14 January 2026) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98p4214577o> accessed 19 January 2026

^[8] Diana Russell, ‘Origin of Femicide’ (December 2011) <https://www.dianarussell.com/origin_of_femicide.html> accessed 19 January 2026

^[9] Magdalena Grzyb et al., ‘Femicide Definitions’ in Shalva Weil et al. (eds) Femicide across Europe: Theory, Research and Prevention (Bristol University Press 2018)

^[10] Celeste Saccomano, The Causes of Femicide in Latin America, (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals 2015)

^[11] ‘Femicide: a classification system’, (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2021) <https://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/mh0321355enn_002.pdf> accessed 19 January 2026

^[12] Marina Elefante and Siyi Wang, ‘Femicide laws worldwide: 50 years of evolution and ongoing gaps’ (World Bank Blogs, 16 June 2025) <https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/femicide-laws-worldwide--50-years-of-evolution-and-ongoing-gaps> accessed 19 January 2026

^[13] Marina Elefante and Siyi Wang, ‘Femicide laws worldwide: 50 years of evolution and ongoing gaps’ (World Bank Blogs, 16 June 2025) <https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/femicide-laws-worldwide--50-years-of-evolution-and-ongoing-gaps> accessed 19 January 2026

^[14] Ionel Zamfir, ‘Violence against women in the EU’ (European Parliamentary Research Service, June 2025) <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/772921/EPRS_BRI(2025)772921_EN.pdf> accessed 19 January 2026

^[15] Alessia Nicastro, ‘Addressing Femicide Through International Criminal Law: The Need for a Binding Legal Framework’ (Yale Journal of International Law, 26 January 2025) <https://yjil.yale.edu/posts/2025-01-26-addressing-femicide-through-international-criminal-law-the-need-for-a-binding> accessed 19 January 2026

^[16]Roxana Gutiérrez-Romero, ‘Femicide laws are failing’ (Queen Mary University of London, 27 November 2023) <https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbm/media/sbm/research/research-insights/Brief-3-Femicide-laws-are-failing.pdf> accessed 19 January 2026

^[17] ‘Gender-related killings of women and girls (femicide/feminicide)’ (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2022) <https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/Gender-related-killings-of-women-and-girls-improving-data-to-improve-responses-to-femicide-feminicide-en.pdf> accessed 19 January 2026