EIGE’s research on femicide has focused on defining and measuring it as a distinct crime, due to the gendered nature of the killings and the underlying dynamics of power imbalance between women and men.
EIGE supports Member States in collecting national administrative data on femicide, particularly in the context of intimate partner relationships, domestic settings, or other interpersonal relationships. This policy brief presents findings from the most recent EU-wide collection of national administrative data on intimate partner violence and domestic violence.
The brief outlines MS' progress in collecting femicide data between 2014 and 2022, particularly their capacity to disaggregate data by the sex of the victim and perpetrator, as well as the nature of their relationship. Key findings include that women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner killings: women account for 87% of all victims in such cases, and 60% of victims in domestic settings, compared to 42% of overall homicide victims.
The brief further calls on MS to adopt a common legal definition of femicide and to systematically collect disaggregated data by sex of the victim and the perpetrator and relationship type. It also advocates for expanding data collection to include contextual and circumstantial information about the killings, to enhance understanding of femicide and improve risk assessment tools.
