A United Nations roadmap to fighting back against femicide

Monash’s Associate Professor Bebe Loff, an expert in human rights and public health, has been integral to a new report into gender-based killings that was tabled at the United Nations in New York.

The report lays the failure to protect the hundreds of women and girls killed each day because of their gender at the feet of governments, and urges them to comply with their obligations to investigate and eradicate femicide.

Associate Professor Loff’s research underpinned the findings that were delivered in the report created by Dr Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions.

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Professor Stephen Cordner and recent PhD graduate Dr Reena Sarkar, from the Monash Department of Forensic Medicine, worked closely with both Associate Professor Loff and Dr Tidball-Binz on the report, alongside Mai Sato from the Faculty of Law, and Bronwyn Naylor from RMIT.

Femicide is the killing of women and girls because of their gender. Killers often suffer no punishment; in fact, in many instances they’re praised for their actions. Perpetrators are most commonly, but not exclusively, partners or former partners, and often escape due to lack of proper investigation.

In addition to such killings, hundreds of women on death row around the world face execution on the basis of gender-biased prosecution and sentencing.

The report also calls for the same protections for individuals whose gender expression or identity is female.

“It should not be tolerated when local beliefs, customs, traditions, or religions are invoked to limit the rights of women and girls, or as a defence against a charge of femicide,” Dr Tidball-Binz said.

“The duty to investigate any potentially unlawful death, including femicides, has assumed customary status in international law, and a failure to investigate may in itself constitute a violation of the right to life.”

Latin America is a hotspot for femicide, due to heavily entrenched gender roles, high levels of organised crime, and ineffective justice institutions that are often dismissive of the crimes, or lack the will, resources or agency to properly investigate.

The report details the case of Mariana Lima, a 29-year-old law intern from Mexico killed by her police officer husband in 2010.

Her husband concealed evidence, provided false statements, and had a known history of violence towards Mariana. The investigation was deficient, with her husband allowed to access the crime scene, incomplete record0-keeping, and an unsatisfactory autopsy.

In 2015, justice was finally served after years of persistence by her mother, but it came only under guarantees of legal protections for both the husband and authorities.

Associate Professor Loff says the story of Mariana is one that repeats hundreds of times each day around the world, and is nothing short of a tragedy.

Despite advances in social norms regarding the value of women and protections for them, delays, negligence and incompetence often characterise these investigations, coupled with a general lack of interest in, and respect for, the victims that sees the mischaracterisation of femicides as suicides or accidental deaths.

“Women often fall victim to men who are more powerful and protected than they are, whether it be through governmental authorities or criminal networks,” Associate Professor Loff says.

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About 5000 women are on death row around the world, and the death penalty may also constitute femicide. Courts in some nations are unwilling or unable to consider histories of gender-based violence against the women in their sentencing.

Illegal drug activity also accounts for many women on death row, despite many being driven to drug deals because of economic insecurity, which in itself is a highly gendered phenomenon.

The report identifies best practices from around the world that have proven effective for tackling femicide, as well as identifying standards for its reliable investigation. These form the basis of its recommendations, which offer a practical and evidence-based roadmap for preventing and helping eradicate femicides worldwide.

“Researching this topic has been at times harrowing, but ultimately it’s been very rewarding,” says Associate Professor Loff.

“Knowing that I’ve contributed to something that’s drawn powerful attention to the issue, and provides very clear, evidence-based recommendations around how to reduce it, feels like an important step.”