Guess which European country is the first to pass an anti-femicide law (and it’s not too early)

This is an important development. On June 29, the Belgian Parliament adopted the law “ Let’s stop feminicide », led jointly by Marie-Colline Leroy, Secretary of State for Gender Equality and Sarah Schlitz, her predecessor. A first in Europe, which we hope will serve as an example.

Towards better legal recognition of feminicides

The spearhead of the new law, the definition of feminicide will now be enshrined in Belgian legislation. It will also include the violence that precedes these crimes, whether they are psychological, sexual or subject to coercive control.

The law also distinguishes between four types of femicide:

• Intimate femicide, committed by a partner
• Non-intimate femicide, committed by a third party
• Indirect femicide, resulting from violence such as forced abortion or genital mutilation “Details Belgian media RTB extension
• Gender-based homicide (for example, as specified in art RTB extensiona transgender man who dies in the context of intimate partner violence)

Towards a crucial census work

This regulatory framework will be accompanied by a precise census work on feminicides, with data collection, as is done here the feminist Inter Orgaor the blog Let’s stop feminicide in Belgium.

This counting work will be supplemented by two publications: “ an annual quantitative report summarizing the main statistics relating to femicides, the characteristics of the victims, the perpetrators and the relationship between victim and perpetrator – and a qualitative report on femicides and gender homicides highlighting their frequency, conviction rates, the effectiveness of the measures taken to implement the Istanbul Convention “accurate RTB extension.

The law also provides for the creation of a scientific committee for the analysis of feminicides and gender homicides, which will have the task of formulating concrete recommendations on the basis of specific case studies.

Towards better assistance for victims

The law also aims to identify the root causes of the dangers to which the victims are exposed, as specified by Sarah Schlitz on LinkedIn : “ The assessment of the risks to which the victim is exposed will be carried out systematically in order to put him out of harm’s way as soon as possible. “. Added to this is the training of police officers in order to better recognize the violence that precedes the act: “ The forces of order and the magistrates must understand the mechanisms in place, the cycle of violence and appropriate the new tools in the fight against femicide for this law to produce its effects. »

Today, in France, it is estimated that one in five victims of femicide has filed a complaint, without success. Figures that stagnate despite the government’s promises to train agents better, especially in receiving complaints. It therefore remains to be seen whether this measure, announced by our Belgian neighbours, will really make it possible to identify risky situations, take the word of the victims seriously and provide them with the necessary protection.

On LinkedIn, former Secretary of State for Gender Equality Sarah Schlitz welcomed a ” historic collective victory, fruit of the hard work of civil society, feminist activists, relatives of victims, progressive elected officials… “. It remains to be seen whether its European neighbors will follow suit. Since 2007, the term femicide has entered the penal code of 18 Latin American states. Why are we late?

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