An alarming rise in femicide cases in Kenya has led to widespread protests as people called for an end to the violence.
Thousands of women have taken to the streets in recent days carrying placards emblazoned with the words #StopKillingUs and #WeJustWantToLive. Protesters are calling for femicide to be recognised as a particular crime.
According to Femicide Count Kenya data, there have been over 504 femicide cases recorded in the country between 2019 and 2024. Many more women are missing. The majority of femicide cases were reportedly carried out by men who were known to the women, often through romantic relationships. However, sometimes, women can be killed by complete strangers.
Kenya is not the only country that has recorded alarming femicide figures. In Northern Ireland, the tragic murder of Ashling Murphy in broad daylight in 2022 prompted Sinn Fein’s Michelle O'Neill, who is now the first minister, to say: "Male violence against women and girls needs to stop now."
Reports revealed that 18 more women were violently killed after Murphy’s death.
A further 26 women were killed in London in 2022, prompting further calls for something to change.
What is femicide?
According to UN Women, femicide is the intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender. Femicide can happen in different scenarios, such as the murder of a woman by her partner, “honour” killings or misogynistic attacks.
A shocking 89,000 women and girls were murdered worldwide in 2022. Most of these cases happened at the hands of the woman’s partner or a family member. More alarmingly, femicide and violence against women are reportedly some of the least punished crimes in the world.
Countries with the highest rates of femicide
Femicide is not limited by borders and the murders of women take place in many parts of the world. However, there are some countries where the problem is worse than the degree of impunity greater.
According to reports, El Salvador has the highest rates of femicide in the world, with 13.9 out of every 100,000 women murdered, according to statistics. This was followed by Jamaica, which recorded 11 in 100,000 women killed.
In Europe, figures show that Poland has the highest rates of femicide, documenting 400 cases in 2020.
What is the difference between femicide and feminicide?
Femicide and feminicide both refer to the gender-based killing of women. However, they have certain nuances.
According to CNRS, the term feminicide was coined in the 1990s after a slew of femicide-related killings in Mexico. If anything feminicide was seen as an extension of femicide, appearing to highlight the scale of the problem.
“In this case it’s no longer the murder of a woman as an individual, but a mass crime, a State crime. It’s about killing women as an identity, as an entity, as a population,” historian Christelle Taraud told the outlet.
