Protest in Paris against violence perpetrated against women. ALAIN JOCARD / AFP

The silent epidemic of femicide – a bi-cultural analysis of France and the United States.

The worldwide mid-20th century feminist revolutions opened the door for a better understanding of gender inequalities and the patriarchal dynamics of our societies. Discussing femicide means recognizing the omerta attached to it and the stigma of systemic abuse women still suffer from.^[2] According to UN Women, also known as the United  Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, femicides are « the most brutal and extreme manifestation of a continuum of violence against women that takes many interconnected and overlapping forms ». The  organization likewise reminds us that45,000 femicides occurred worldwide in 2021.^[3]

Yet, despite the involvement of the civil society, which contributed to raising more awareness on the matter, it remains unclearwhether women’s voices have been amplified or if the public has begun to heed their distress call. Women have been vocalabout abuse for decades, but gender-based patriarchal stereotypes fed a vicious narrative of the over-exaggeration of women’s condition. Even though this pattern seems to be changing, women as a social group face tremendous obstacles in their crusade against « woman-slaughter »^[4]. In most cases, the cause is significantly undermined by biased mediacoverage of femicide cases and a lack of legal repercussions.

To get a broader understanding of femicide, I decided to provide an in-depth analysis of how femicide is handled in both France andthe United States.

Womanhood: earn less, suffer more, die and repeat

As a preliminary remark, gender violence is a worldwide phenomenon, unlike race violence which differs across nations. Gender violence is to be understood as more universal, transcending national realities. In addition, intersectionality is not to be forgotten, as it underscores the heightened risk faced by women of color in intimate partner violence fatalities.

Numbers bring us back to the tough truth. Out of 168 million females in the United States^[5], 796 were killed by their partners or ex-partners this year^[6] ; in France, out of 35 million females^[7], 108 have been murdered since January^[8].

In other words, this means that out of a sample of one million women, 3.37 in France and 4.68 in the USA arebound to die at the hands of a man with whom they have/had an intimate relationship.

In France, femicides are dangerously increasing, encouraging activists and associations to push legal reforms. Incorrelation with the escalation of death, women have been frequently protesting in the past years to shed light on these events,which are often overlooked – or at least poorly covered – by the media. French women are being severely affected by the existing system that inevitably subjects them to dual jeopardy; it is either get killed or kill, but the latter almost always implies the woman’s prosecution. In other words, most women facing abuse have the feeling of being trapped between fruitless detours at the police station where their complaints are rejected and no evaluation of the threat is done; victims are not granted any level of protection.^[9] In addition to that, law enforcement officers do not properly assess the risk incurred by women with violent partners due to strong gender biases. There are no good options for women: ending their torment by taking their abuser’s life willlead to a criminal conviction, yet succumbing to physical harm might not result in the arrest of their partner.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), thirty-five percent of female victims of sexual violence reported that the perpetrator was their partner or ex-partner.^[10] In contrast, this figure was thirteen percent for malevictims. Data is essential to examining femicide, especially since when the opposite situation occurs – women murdering their male partners – it is often a matter of self-defense to protect herself from abuse.

The calm before the storm: a tangible tiredness felt by womankind

Media coverage of femicide is also shockingly biased. When examining Le Monde archives, names of women’s murderers are almost never mentioned in headlines. Readers need to dive into the article to get more information. In the best-case scenario, the article mentions the term “femicide”, in the worst case, they candidly use the phrase “a woman murdered byher partner”. Words matter; therefore, when presenting news items, it is crucial to call a gender-based murder what it is and invokeall the disdain it implies.

Owing to the involvement of different activist groups, including “Nous toutes”, the term “femicide” is more often used by serious news reporters to emphasize the gravity of the case. Almost every two and a half days, a woman is killed by her male partner or ex in France, but once again, the perpetrator’s identity and mugshot are not usually used as a cover for magazines.^[11] When it comes to the opposite situation, women’s names and faces are plastered everywhere, causing widespread awareness of public opinion. An accurate depiction of this phenomenon would be the story of Valérie Bacot, a 35-year-old who was in the center of a particularly mediatizedic trial in 2021 after she shot her abusive « husband » in the head.^[12]

Valérie was first introduced to her abuser when he was her stepfather: he continuously raped her from the age of 13 to his death and eventually forced her into prostitution. Valérie received a four-year prison sentence but had already served it while in custody waiting for her trial^[13]. She had no choice but to be in the spotlight and face publiccriticism, while men have the privilege of flying under the radar of mediatization. Inequalities are thus foreseeable in the way the media portrays murderers according to gender, with theis double penalty of risking imprisonment for defending themselves and facing a media witch hunt.

Implementing legislation protecting women: a legal gray area

In comparison, the United States’ management of the situation is astonishingly different. Unsuitable public policies coupled with a lack of mobilization from the civil society has had a negative effect throughout the territory.^[14] The case of France has shown that the media doesid not have the will to break the silence ofover violence against women by increasing awareness aroundthe topic. The work of activist groups was more impactful than any other French institution. Nowadays, breaching taboossurrounding femicide leads to better prevention, an increase in accountability of the offender, but also of the law enforcement officers who misdirected investigations. The United States appears as an enigma, and in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade^[15] in June 2022, the decline of women’s health and safety within the country comes as no surprise.^[16]

An explanation for inaction could be the strong application of gender norms in the United States which induced a persistence of gender inequalities. Even though expectations around what women should be has tendeds to shift, the core of a primary genderframework mixed with deeply rooted patriarchy hasn’t n’t necessarily mutated.

If collecting data on France was disturbingly gender biased, data on femicide in the US were hard to find, as if media coveragewas barely existent. It is only very recently that the Washington Post released an alarming piece on skyrocketing femicide rates. It based its argument on the 2022 report by the Violence Policy Center, which revealed that between 2014 (the lowest year on record) and 2020, the incidence of femicide in the United States hads increased by 24 percent.^[17]

To be efficient, public policies need to be supported by a legal framework, in other words, femicide will perennially decrease whenCongress agrees to implement new legislation. The current situation is the reflection of a strong institutionalized patriarchy thatprevents legislation from being enforced. Furthermore, debates surrounding the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) have resurfaced in view of the State of Virginia ratifying the Aamendment, enabling it to satisfy the requirements of Article V of the US Constitution. Since then, some legal scholars claim that it has become the 28th Amendment to the Constitution and therefore should be binding and applied by all courts of law. Introduced in Congress in 1923, the ERA states that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Even though the US Supreme Court applied the 14^th Aamendment, which guarantees equal protection of the laws to women in the case “Reed v. Reed” of 1971^[18], the ERA will ensure constitutional protection of women without having the risk of Justices overruling theaforementioned decision.

Widespread gun access amplifying terror

The nonprofit organization Everytown Research refers to guns as “America’s uniquely lethal intimate partner violence problem”. In 2022, 70 women were shot to death by their intimate partner. The NPO also states that the crisis of intimate partnerviolence is inextricably linked to the widespread and growing use of guns by abusers.^[19]

Source: Everytown analysis of FBI Supplemental Homicide Report (SHR) data from 2011–2020, accessed October 2021. Analysis includes all female victims of intimate partner homicides. Data from AL and FL were excluded.

Since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022^[20], which overturned the federal right to abortion in the US, there has been constant fear of more threats to women’s fundamental rights. This reluctance was justified, as the  US Supreme Court is currently hearing an appeal against a Fifth Circuit Court decision that ruled unconstitutional federal legislation preventing thosesubjects to restraining orders from possessing firearms.

Rahimi v. United States is an ongoing case regarding the respondent, Zackey Rahimi, who violently assaulted his partner while under a restraining order. He argued that the law preventing domestic abuse perpetrators from carrying a gun was violating the Second Amendment. The stakes are high but with the current conservative Supreme Court, stakes are even higher since it is unlikely that a broad authorization of the legislatures to restrict Second Amendment rights is forthcoming. US Supreme Court jurisprudence remains extremely protective of the Second Amendment, as shown in last year’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen^[21] where the Justices ruled the 1911 Sullivan Act unconstitutional, a New York state law enabling a broader control and implementing a “proper cause” element for persons applying for a pistol-concealed carry license. According to this decision, carrying a pistol in public is a constitutional right guaranteed by theSecond Amendment.

Last October, public health researchers and lawyers released an Amici Curiae in support of the petitioner – the Federal Government– arguing the “federal law prohibiting firearm possession by persons subject to domestic violence protective orders is Constitutional because it continues [the] nation’s historical tradition of disarming persons deemed to pose a danger to society andothers.”^[22]

Rahimi has recently been granted public support from one of the most powerful lobbies in the United States: tThe National Rifle Association that has argued that “the bar for restraining orders is too low to remove a constitutional right”.^[23] Consequently, it would mean that any culprits of domestic violence whothat are legally obligated to stay away from their former partner could still own a weapon and possibly use it against them. Thus, unrestricted access to firearms increases the risk of gender-related shootings,which belittles brutal situations of violence endured by women.^[24]

Ultimately, both France and the United States find themselves entangled in institutionalized patriarchy, a stark reality manifested in both the law-making process and its implementation. The disregard exhibited by law enforcement officers, the judiciary, the media, and all stakeholders capable of fixing the current situation perpetuates a vicious gender-based abuse cycle. It is this inaction that has led the United Nations to document the tragic demise of  (+) 120 women worldwide at the hands of anintimate partner.^[25]

Raising awareness remains the most efficient way to break this curse. Shedding light on the issue continues to stand as  the most effective means to shatter this curse targeting women. 

Par Lila Laborde – membre du pôle Égalité 

---

^[1] Zeus devoured his first wife, Metis, for fear of seeing his son dethrone him. This myth is used in this context as an allegory of femicide.

^[2] Assemblée Nationale, Rapport d’information n°2695, 2020, “Sur la reconnaissance du terme féminicide”.

^[3] UNODC and UN Women publication, 2022: “Gender-related killings of women and girls: Improving data to improve responses to femicide/feminicide”.

^[4] The tTerm « woman-slaughter » is used here in opposition of the English word manslaughter.

^[5] Statista, November 7^th, 2023, « Gender distribution of the resident population of the United States from 1980 to 2022”.

^[6] Womencountsusa.org, “2023 Database”.

^[7] Insee, January 17th, 2023, “Population par sexe Données annuelles de 1990 à 2023”.

^[8] Noustoutes.org, October 2023, « Décompte des féminicides en France ».

^[9] France Inter, March 25th 2021, “Plus d’une femme sur deux a essuyé un refus quand elle a voulu porter plainte pour agression”.

^[10] National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies Report on Women and Men facing violence (INSEE) : < Femmes et hommes face à la violence – Insee Première – 1473

^[11] Los Angeles Times, El-Faizy, Monique., October 22^nd, 2021: < France’s high rate of femicide has activists urging change – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)>

^[12] France Info, June 22nd 2021, “Valérie Bacot : un procès emblématique”.

^[13] Le Monde, June 21st 2021, “L’accusation demande la clémence pour Valérie Bacot, victime d’un mari violent qu’elle a fini par tuer”.

^[14] Brysk, Alison, Sept 20th 2018, ‘The Right to Life: Femicide and Intimate Partner Violence’, The Struggle for Freedom from Fear: Contesting Violence against Women at the Frontiers ofGlobalization.

^[15] Roe v Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), January 22^nd, 1973.

^[16] Washington Post, McHugh, Jess., March 10^th, 2020, <Opinion | Women in Mexico, France, Chile are protesting against femicide. Why not in the U.S.? – The Washington Post>

^[17] Chicago Policy Review, Jonsdottir, Vera., July 7^th, 2022, “Is the US still too patriarchal to talk about women – the silent epidemic of femicide in America”.

^[18] Reed v. Reed 404 U.S. 71 (1971), November 22^nd, 1971.

^[19] Every Town Research, Report, 2019, “Guns and violence against women – America’s Uniquely Lethal Intimate Partner Violence Problem”.

^[20] Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S (2022), June 24th, 2022.

^[21] New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen 597 U.S. (2022), June 23^rd, 2022.

^[22] John Hopkins School of Public Health, Roskam, Kelly., “Questions and Answers on U.S. v. Rahimi, the Major Gun Case Before the Supreme Court During its 2023–2024 Term”.

^[23] BBC News, Murphy, Matt., “Should domestic abusers have guns? US Supreme Court will decide in United States v Rahimi”.

^[24] The US Supreme Court review of the Fifth Circuit decision will be issued this upcoming year, making it a legal turning point for women’s health and safety in the country.

^[25] UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe, November 23^rd, 2022, “Féminicides : la maison, lieu de tous les dangers”.