PhD, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / When a woman is killed she is most likely to be murdered by an intimate partner. This form of homicide known as intimate femicide is conceptualised to be the most extreme consequence of intimate partner violence. Not much is known about such killings in South Africa or in other developing settings. This thesis studied intimate femicide using two complimentary studies from two methodological perspectives. The first study was quantitative with the aim of describing the incidence and pattern of intimate femicide in South Africa. The second study used qualitative methods and explored the social construction of the early formation of violent masculinities. Five papers written from these two studies are presented in this thesis. Study one was a retrospective national mortuary-based study and collected data on all female homicides, 14 years and older, who died in 1999 from a stratified, multi-stage sample of 25 mortuaries. Data was collected from the mortuary file, autopsy report, and a police interview. The second study used a cluster of qualitative in-depth interviews with 20 incarcerated men in prison who have been convicted for the murder of an intimate partner, as well as interviews with family and friends of both the perpetrator and the victim. Overall it was found that 50.3% of women murdered in South Africa are killed by an intimate partner, with an intimate femicide rate of 8.8/100 000 and an intimate-femicide suicide rate of 1.7/100 000 females 14 years and older. Blunt force injuries were shown to be associated with intimate killings, while gun ownership was associated with intimate femicide-suicides. vi Elevated Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) combined with unemployed status was also found to be associated with intimate killings. The qualitative study showed that traumatic childhood experiences such as violent and neglectful parenting practises particularly by mothers made these men feel unloved, inferior and powerless with this found to be a pathway to violent models of masculinity used as a means to attain power and respect. This study shows that such traumatic experiences can lead to a suppression of emotions. It is argued that cognitive dissonance act as a protective mechanism which allows these men to perpetrate acts of violence without consideration of its impact. These findings suggests that intimate femicide is a complex phenomenon with a “web” of associated and mediating factors which all contribute to it excessive levels in South Africa. It shows that intimate femicide is an extension of intimate partner violence and as such has to take into account the unequal gender relations in society. Building gender equity and shifting patterns of femininity and masculinity is a key strategy in reducing this form of violence.

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore how intimate partner femicide (IPF) has impacted one family. IPF is well researched and studies are largely centered on indicators of intimate partner violence (IFV) and the impacts of children witnessing violence. There is very little research conducted with family members exploring how they are impacted by the violent death of their loved one. This study concentrates on the impacts experienced by one family who has suffered the loss of a loved one due to intimate partner femicide. This study was conducted via a series of interviews with Gail, who lost her sister. Due to the nature and intensity of the subject matter no other family members were contacted. Our first interview was in person and took place in central Ontario, several hours away from where her sister was killed. I conducted further interviews by phone to obtain additional understanding about her experiences of the loss of her sister. I used feminist theory to explore the dynamics in the victim’s relationship prior to her death. Feminist theory was used because it explores the power imbalances that exist in relationships. This revealed a cycle of violence that existed in her intimate relationship and the challenges this woman faced in her attempts to leave her relationship. As a result of her sister’s death Gail and her children have been very deeply affected. Through a thematic analysis of the data, four main themes emerged: 1) the victim feared for her own safety pre and post relationship; and the family were afraid once the woman went missing; 2) the family members faced and continue to face mental health challenges including a very young child suffering with suicide ideations, depression, and anxiety; 3) ways of coping included concealment of emotions and the use of non-medicinal methods of healing trauma; 4) Gail felt guilty that she did not do enough to help keep her sister safe but eventually coming to the realization that she did as much as could be done. Family stress theory is another important theory used to understand and make sense of Gail’s experiences of femicide. Family stress theory refers to multiple stressors as a “pile up”, a stage that Gail encountered when she struggled with depression, anxiety and financial struggles after taking time off work to care for her own children and grandchildren, resulting from Gail’s daughter’s own mental health breakdown which she sees as tied to the families experience of femicide. Of the many things that came from this study I found the most striking was talk of the “new normal” created as a result of the femicide. The new normal has impacted the whole family as they adjust to life without the one person who was central in bringing the family together to celebrate family events. These gatherings no longer take place. When they do half the family does not participate due in part to their ongoing grief and anger over their loss that their sister is no longer present. These findings of my study bring further attention to the continued struggles and impact that IPF has on families. It highlights that there is still much work to be done to put an end to this heinous crime. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

<p>Den här uppsatsen handlar om svenska tidningars rapportering om konflikterna och massvåldtäkterna i Demokratiska republiken Kongo, med ett syfte att kartlägga hur ofta tidningarna skriver om femicide. Med en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ metod har vi undersökt rapporteringen i <em>Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet </em>och <em>Expressen </em>under ett års tid, från den 18 november 2008 till den 18 november 2009. Vi valde dessa tidningar eftersom de är fyra av Sveriges största tidningar. Vi har valt att titta på hur mycket tidningarna skriver om kvinnor i DRK och hur de framställer kvinnan. Vi tror att ett ökat medieutrymme om konflikterna och massvåldtäkterna är av stor betydelse i förståelsen och medvetenheten av det femicide som pågår i DRK, vilket tidningarna kan bidra med till sina läsare.</p><p>Två frågeställningar som vi har utgått från är: Får konflikten och massvåldtäkterna tillräckligt utrymme? Och hur invecklad och komplex är rapporteringen av våldet mot kvinnorna?</p><p>Huvudresultatet visar att <em>Expressen </em>skrev minst om situationen, därefter <em>Aftonbladet.</em> Tidningen som skrev flest artiklar var <em>Dagens Nyheter</em> och sedan <em>Svenska Dagbladet.</em> Kvinnorna i DRK kommer sällan till tals i texterna utan istället är det andra personer som talar om och för dem. Ofta får kvinnan endast rollen som offer.</p>

Den här uppsatsen handlar om svenska tidningars rapportering om konflikterna och massvåldtäkterna i Demokratiska republiken Kongo, med ett syfte att kartlägga hur ofta tidningarna skriver om femicide. Med en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ metod har vi undersökt rapporteringen i Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet och Expressen under ett års tid, från den 18 november 2008 till den 18 november 2009. Vi valde dessa tidningar eftersom de är fyra av Sveriges största tidningar. Vi har valt att titta på hur mycket tidningarna skriver om kvinnor i DRK och hur de framställer kvinnan. Vi tror att ett ökat medieutrymme om konflikterna och massvåldtäkterna är av stor betydelse i förståelsen och medvetenheten av det femicide som pågår i DRK, vilket tidningarna kan bidra med till sina läsare. Två frågeställningar som vi har utgått från är: Får konflikten och massvåldtäkterna tillräckligt utrymme? Och hur invecklad och komplex är rapporteringen av våldet mot kvinnorna? Huvudresultatet visar att Expressen skrev minst om situationen, därefter Aftonbladet. Tidningen som skrev flest artiklar var Dagens Nyheter och sedan Svenska Dagbladet. Kvinnorna i DRK kommer sällan till tals i texterna utan istället är det andra personer som talar om och för dem. Ofta får kvinnan endast rollen som offer.

Thesis advisor: Matthew Rutledge / Feminicides are the gender motivated killings of women. In other words, they are the killing of women because they are women. This difference in motive from homicides means that feminicides merit legal distinction, which led all 32 Mexican states to reform their penal codes in order to include feminicide. This paper investigates the evolution of feminicide typifications across states, and evaluates whether states with stronger feminicide laws have been more effective at enforcing justice by having higher prosecution rates for feminicides. Three factors are of particular importance when measuring the strength of feminicide laws: (1) the number of objective criteria used to recognize gender motive; (2) the presence of subjective elements; and (3) the recognition of feminicide as an autonomous crime. This paper finds that between 2010 and 2017, the typification of feminicide laws improved for all three criteria, but many states continue to have laws that are far from ideal. Over the last decade, feminicide prosecution rate fell as a result of an increase in violence throughout the country, even though the number of feminicide prosecutions increased. Yet the strength of the laws had a positive and significant effect on feminicide prosecutions, suggesting that the decrease in the feminicide prosecution rate would have been greater were it not for the stronger laws. This paper finds that the average improvement in the feminicide laws led to an increase in the feminicide prosecution rate of between 12% and 21%. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Scholar of the College. / Discipline: Economics.

Corpses and disappeared bodies have become part of the Mexican landscape. Within the overall increase of violence, feminicide has become an urgent matter. Around ten women are murdered each day and most cases remain unsolved. As a response to this spectacle of violence, feminist protests and organized action are gaining prominence throughout the country. ‘Vivas nos queremos’ (‘We want to stay alive’) and ‘Ni una menos’ (‘Not one less’) are some of the chants that resonate among massive protests. Despite the growing numbers of feminicide cases and with the spread of activism, there is surprisingly little research that examines the affects and emotions engendered in the current normalization of violence. Much has been said about feminicide in relation to symbolic violence, and patriarchal structures, but not enough focus has been placed on how living bodies affect and are affected by their contact with the dead. Thus, this project utilizes affect theories (Brian Massumi, 2002) and the language of haunting (Avery F. Gordon, 2008) to unpack the complexity of feminicide, collective mourning, and normalization of violence. Through a close reading of literary fiction, I explore the affective forces engendered between living bodies and dead bodies. By thinking with Massumi and Gordon, I posit that theorizing affective forces should not assume a sharp cut between life and death. Then I follow the ghost of La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) as her wails become the voice of grieving mothers and murdered women. Listening to La Llorona’s wails as they mingle with activists’ chants of resistance makes visible, audible, and palpable a larger haunting that hints towards unequal social structures. Thinking with the concepts of mourning and grief as well as affect and haunting opens new ways of thinking about the unresolved murders and disappearances of women as expressed by literature and artivism. / Graduate

This thesis is going to present how online newspapers addresses femicide in Bolivia. Femicide is an increasing problem in a global context but according to “Small Arms Survey Study”, Bolivia is within the 25 countries listed, where the problem is widespread and is affecting more and more women every year. The context in Bolivia is highlighted by a patriarchal culture and high alcohol consumption in general. Women are suffering different kinds of violence: physical, emotional, economical, discrimination and even femicide which means “murder of women due to the fact that they are women” In this sense the current government enacted the law number 348 protecting women from violence in Bolivia. Analyzing the representation of femicide is highly important in a society where the number of cases have increased and even more important in a society where media plays an important role, because mass media is the reference of reality, facts and ideas that are present, in this case, in a Bolivian context and the daily life of its inhabitants. The theoretical framework is almost entirely focused on representation that in words of Stuart Hall means: “Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our minds through language” (1997:17). Representation of femicide which in a Bolivian context could be identified and understood by its inhabitants as a positive or negative phenomenon. This study is will be conducted through a content analysis of 370 online articles, which were found in the website archives of three mayor newspaper in Bolivia; with in a period from January 2012 to May 2016. In this sense, this study chooses articles which developed some background about the crime, not articles which talk about political reports, international reports, law, and police reports and so forth. These articles mostly show statistics or even worse; presents some femicide cases as “one more case” or “another woman is dead” as part of a common and daily thing, normalizing the violence against women in Bolivia. This thesis found the main results described in the content analysis but also described how the process of the data collection was conducted. In this sense, presented examples from different perspectives and analyzed them more carefully. Examples that show part of the reality of how mass media represents femicide in Bolivia and contributes to the normalization of violence against women. The present thesis described how online newspaper, represent femicide in Bolivia through the content analysis of 370 articles, published in three mayor newspapers, between 2012 to 2016.

In this thesis I argue that contrary to popular perceptions and stereotypes of familismo in Mexican families, there exists a femicidal mentality the permeates Mexican culture and places women at risk of physical violence and at times even death. This thesis examines femicide through the genocidal mentality framework found in Carol Rittner, et al’s book Genocide in Rwanda: Complicity of the Churches. It explores the root causes of femicide, the influence of different contexts and locations, and the use of machismo, familismo, and caballerismo as a vehicle towards a femicidal mentality in order to suggest opportunities for prevention.

Despite nearly twenty years of official peace in Guatemala since the signing of the 1996 Peace Accords, violence continues to remain a grave problem throughout the country. In particular, extreme forms of gender-based violence have been reportedly problematic over the past two decades, with a conversation on femicide, the targeted killing of women by men based on their gender, emerging in recent years between activists, politicians and practitioners alike. To respond to the crisis around femicide, in 2008, the Law on Femicide and Other Forms of Violence Against Women was passed by Guatemala’s congress, mandating the creation of a specialized justice system to criminalize such acts. Guatemala’s legal innovations around femicidal violence is widely believed by many observers as a victory for human and women’s rights defenders in the country. However, despite these legal interventions, femicidal violence has continued unabatedly in Guatemala. In this thesis, I present a two-pronged argument. First, I will argue that the tensions inherent to neoliberalism in Guatemala create a landscape in which women are vulnerable to experiencing femicidal violence, beyond the scope explored by both the mainstream and critical literature, and moreover, beyond the scope of the Law on Femicide. Second, I posit that the Law on Femicide, which is inserted as a neutral, technical fix to the ongoing and pervasive issue of femicide and violence against women, depoliticizes femicide in Guatemala, removing it from neoliberal capitalist context and individualizing the responsibility of the crime to perpetrators, rather than the neoliberal state. Simultaneously, the rule of law as expressed through the Law on Femicide must be understood in the context of the neoliberal landscape in Guatemala, in particular, in the context of neoliberalism’s “crisis of social reproduction” (LeBaron and Roberts 2012, 26). / Thesis (Master, Global Development Studies) -- Queen's University, 2014-06-18 10:26:03.879

The present study is examining the representation of femicides in a selection of Greek newspapers. The aim of the study is to examine how victims of femicide and their perpetrators are being represented in the selected newspapers, which cases are receiving more attention and if the understanding of femicide as a term and a phenomenon has changed the last two decades. The method of the analysis is a qualitative content analysis of selected Greek newspapers. For the theoretical part, a feminist approach on intersectionality and femicide aided me with my analysis. What I found is the way victims, cases and perpetrators are represented has changed throughout the years. About the nature of the crimes, the term femicide began to be used the most recent years, but the understanding of femicides as a phenomenon has not changed drastically.