In 2022, almost 89,000 women were victims of intentional homicide. In approximately 48,800—almost 55%—of those cases, these women were killed by (ex-)partners or other family members. Intentional killing with a gender-related motivation is the definition of femicide. Femicide is often preceded by psychological violence and abuse.
In June 2024, the previous Dutch cabinet announced the ‘Stop Femicide!’ plan, which included 4 pillars and 10 identified priorities that are to be treated over the next 2 years. One of those priorities, under pillar 3 (interventions and assistance), was to improve the criminal law approach to psychological violence. There was no plan, however, to explicitly criminalise it; the intention was only to improve its standing as it is.
Until now.
Dutch State Secretary Ingrid Conradie announced on the 16th of October that there will be a bill presented that will independently criminalise psychological violence. It was announced that a pilot will start in the beginning of 2025, in order to provide clear agreements that will, joined with the criminalization, improve the punishment of psychological violence. If psychological violence is criminalised and punished appropriately, there is a chance that femicide rates will decline.
Why is this such a big deal? Femicide is a worldwide epidemic; it is everywhere. In the Netherlands, in the period between 2018 and 2022, 217 women were killed, 127 of which—almost 60%—were murdered by their (ex-)partner. In the United States alone, three women are killed by their (ex-)partners every day. Of the 48,800 women murdered by family members in 2022, an estimated 20,000 of them were killed in Africa. If we go by the statistics of 2022, worldwide, every 11 minutes I spent writing this article and doing the research, one woman is murdered by a family member.
Psychological violence, such a prominent sign of potential femicide, is way too overlooked. The fact that there finally is a plan that will independently criminalise it, and hopefully give the right institutions more resources and knowledge to recognize the signs of it, means that we might see a decline in femicide rates.
With the creation of such a bill, a lot of women have a chance of being saved. This legislation will not only improve the current justice system, but it is also a sign that our lives, the lives of women, are valued and will be protected. It will create a path that allows victims of psychological violence to be heard, supported, and taken out of dangerous situations.
There is hope. If this bill passes, we might finally see a positive shift in how our society reacts to all types of abuse, and all forms of gender-related violence. This bill could transform femicide into something unusual and unheard of, instead of something tragically common. This bill is a beacon of hope, an inspiration to continue our fight to tackle gender-related violence.
4.5 hours of writing, 270 minutes, 24 women murdered.
We can fight this.
Literature:
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. (2024). 125 people murdered in the Netherlands in 2023. In Statistics Netherlands. https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2024/35/125-people-murdered-in-the-netherlands-in-2023
Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security & Dutch ministry Of Education, Culture and Science. (2024). Stop Femicide! Plan van aanpak om dodelijk geweld tegen vrouwen en meisjes door (ex-) partner of familie te voorkomen. Rijksoverheid. https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/7428c2b8-01fb-4ff9-99d2-a86b789daf39/file
Families, S. F. (2024, 7 oktober). The Silent Epidemic of Femicide in the United States. Sanctuary For Families. https://sanctuaryforfamilies.org/femicide-epidemic/
Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid. (2024, 16 oktober). Psychisch geweld wordt strafbaar. Nieuwsbericht Rijksoverheid.nl. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2024/10/16/psychisch-geweld-wordt-strafbaar
Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. (2024, 31 juli). Plan van aanpak Stop Femicide! gepresenteerd. Nieuwsbericht | Rijksoverheid.nl. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2024/06/07/plan-van-aanpak-stop-femicide-gepresenteerd#:~:text=Het%20kabinet%20wil%20er%20alles,geweld%20om%20escalatie%20te%20voorkomen.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) & United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). (2023). Gender-related killings of women and girls (femicide/feminicide): Global estimates of female intimate partner/family-related homicides in 2022. In UN Women – Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/11/gender-related-killings-of-women-and-girls-femicide-feminicide-global-estimates-2022
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