FEMICIDE and PATRIARCHY
PATRIARCHY matters!
As I have written, from the view of Ecofeminism, women and the Earth are so equated (consider Mother Earth), that both are subject to a similar fate under cultural, worldwide patriarchal practices that encourage a sense of ownership of both women and the Earth.
Although, I daresay, actions against the Earth are, perhaps, not quite so obviously deliberate as those against women.
The suffering of the Earth will be examined in the next post on Ecocide. For this post, we will focus on the feminism arm of Ecofeminism.
In the latter part of the second wave women’s movement (1960’s-1980s), Audre Lorde, writer, feminist, and activist, made this statement in 1981:
Audre Lorde (1934-1992)
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
We—women and men—need to care about our sisters all around the world. We need to feel their pain and support them.
PATRIARCHY HAS SUPPORTED THE KILLING OF WOMEN JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE WOMEN.
IT IS CALLED FEMICIDE.
Patriarchy and Femicide
Yes, femicide is the killing of women just because they are women.
In so many ways, that ancient desire to control, suppress—even to destroy, eliminate, and kill—women dates back to the prehistorical times (discussed in my last post) when there were peaceable, prolific women-led civilizations.
The Flintstones - American Animated TV Sitcom 1960-1966
Those civilizations were overtaken and destroyed by warrior nations that brought patriarchy with them. That desire, that system to suppress women, still persists today.
All In the Family - TV Sitcom 1971-1979
All in the Family: The family’s patriarch, Archie Bunker, was an outspoken, narrow-minded man, seemingly prejudiced against everyone not like him or not holding his ideas of how people should be.
Archie's wife, Edith, was sweet and understanding, which can make her appear naive and uneducated. Her husband often treated her dismissively and used disparaging language, calling her "dingbat."[13]
_______________________________
As stated in a report from UN Women, 2012:
“Violence against women and girls is both an extreme manifestation of gender inequality and discrimination, and a deadly tool used to maintain women’s subordinate status. [Emphasis mine.]
The following is from an information sheet of the WHO and its regional office, the Pan American Health Organization:
Femicide is generally understood to involve intentional murder of women because they are women, but broader definitions include any killings of women and girls.
Femicide is usually perpetrated by men, but sometimes female family members may be involved.
Femicide differs from male homicide in specific ways. For example, most cases of femicide are committed by partners or ex-partners, and involve ongoing abuse in the home, threats or intimidation, sexual violence or situations where women have less power or fewer resources than their partner.
My backstory: Insight I received from the United Nations!
From Monday March 4 to Friday March 15, 2013, thousands of participants gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the U.N.’s annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
That year's Commission (CSW 57) focused on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.
I was fortunate to have been granted a grounds pass that gave me entry to official UN side events.
In one session, a film was shown in the Dag Hammarskjöld auditorium that detailed a specific incidence of domestic violence toward a woman (I believe the location was Pakistan). It also outlined the dismal, dismissive police response to the woman when she sought help.
Attendees of the film session were also offered a free soft-cover, 136-page publication entitled Femicide: A Global Issue That Demands Action.
Edited by Claire Laurent, Michael Platzer and Maria Idomir. Published by the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Academic Council on United Nations Systems (ACUNS), Vienna Liaison Office, www.acuns.org, 2013.
Free copy!
CLICK ON THE TITLE IF YOU WISH TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE COMPLETE 136-PAGE PUBLICATION: Femicide: A Global Issue That Demands Action.
Editors’ Statement: This publication is the result of a one-day symposium on femicide organized in the UN Office in Vienna on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Here are some takeaways from the publication that demonstrate how patriarchy—in the different forms femicide could take—can be life-threatening.
Please do keep in mind that the time period for the following statistics is 2012 or earlier!
Also, the texts that follow are directly from the publication. I do not claim to be their author.
Symposium on Femicide: A Global Issue that Demands Action! November 26, 2012
The symposium gathered experts and women's rights activists on the question and definition of "femicide"; a crime that, [contrary] to the general decrease of homicides in the world, is steadily increasing.
Some of the types of femicide:
Femicide comprises the killing of women and girls because of their gender. It can take the form of:
1) Murder of women as a result of intimate partner violence.
On an international scale, women are more likely than men to be assaulted, raped, or killed by their former or current intimate partners.
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
UN Women has called on justice forces, prosecution offices, and courts to provide accurate investigations and prosecutions—for these to be available and readily utilized when dealing with domestic violence and intimate partner homicides.
Women must have access to services, in which protection can be ensured: safe havens and self-empowerment for women to escape domestic violence and life-threatening situations which will likely result in death.
There needs to be an increased amount of investment to prevent such abuses and killings, and give women the resources and avenues they need in order to escape.
2) Killing of women and girls in the name of "honour".
There is no definitive list of what is considered honourable with the standard varying between communities and cultures.
Honour killings have been practiced by a myriad of societies throughout different periods of history, mostly prevalent in the Middle East and South Asia.
Data has shown half of the victims to be daughters or sisters, and a quarter to be girlfriends or wives of the perpetrator.
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
Responses vary worldwide. Here are some:
—Informal legal systems are in place in Pakistan and penal codes are set within Iran, Syria, Iraq, Jordan among other countries, also including the death penalty for significant numbers of people who have ‘colluded’ in the killings.
—Turkey is making progress toward changing public mentality with education and protective programs.
—Northern European and Scandinavian states have developed protocols for protection of potential victims.
—The UK announced plans to reopen old cases for possible reclassification as honour killings.
3) Dowry-related killings of women
The practice of the dowry system has cultural roots in all parts of the world.
The arranged marriage represents the foundation of the dowry system where money or goods can be transferred from the family of the bride to the family of the groom, in which case the dowry applies—or vice versa where the bride price is applied.
…[D]owry is almost a universal practice in India and Pakistan. Traditional Chinese and Taiwanese practice includes both bride price and dowry.
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
India could remedy the dowry death problem by enacting a national dowry tort statute, which would discourage the goom’s family’s economic incentive to demand dowry by allowing victims of dowry-related violence to collect money damages.
A study revealed that there tends to be a general consensus that voluntary giving is fine when a daughter gets married. However, extortion through subtle or coercive means is wrong and should be punished by law.
4) Femicide Connected With Organized Crime
In the last decade, drug sales in Latin America have grown enormously. In the three countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, also called the ‘Primary Drug Corridor,” a tendency appeared where a strong rise of drug trafficking coincides with an equally strong rise in female killings.
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
Although the killing of women in drug trafficking mostly takes place in Latin America, some good signs come from this region as well.
Guatemala established a special law in 2008 that criminalized femicide. It is called the Law against Femicide and other Violence against Women.
This is an important step against the impunity of perpetrators of femicide. It creates a shift in the perception of women and it has led to the first conviction under this law in 2009.
5) Targeted killing of women and girls in the context of armed conflict (wartime)
When armed conflict arises, women have been frequently targeted, raped, and/or killed as part of a military strategy.
‘Such violence is often used as a weapon of war—to punish or dehumanize women and girls, and to persecute the community to which they belong.’
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
Despite [a] bleak picture…there have been signs of improvement and measures already started to combat sexual and gender-based violence during wartime.
The UN Security Council has adopted…resolutions on “Women, Peace and Security,” resolutions that have a binding nature on every UN Member state.
6) Female infanticide and gender-based sex selection foeticide
Female infanticide refers to murdering of female children and is an especially horrifying manifestation of the lower ‘value’ of women in patriarchal societies.
The long-standing traditional values of the different genders and their collision with modern technology have contributed to the growth of the problem.
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
South Korea was the first country to report sex ratio distortions at birth because the application of sex-selection technology there outpaced other Southeast Asian countries.
In the mid-1990s, the South Korean government began a public awareness campaign warning of the dangers of gender ratio inequality, as well as stricter enforcement of laws forbidding sex-selection technologies.
It is up to the international community and the different state governments to become aware of the issue and take action.
7) Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) related deaths
FGM is a destructive operation, during which the female genitalia are partly or entirely removed or injured for non-medical reasons. Most often the mutilation is performed before puberty, often on young girls between infancy and age fifteen.
FGM is prevalent in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and also among immigrants in Australia, Europe and the USA. About 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM (Statistic as of 2012).
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
The English Parliament in the UK outlawed FGM nearly 30 years ago (statistic as of 2012). Specialist units were set up at major hospitals throughout the country to help victims of FGM.
In France, mothers are expected to attend mother and child clinics for regular physical check-ups on the girl until age six. They offer FGM reconstructive surgery to those who have been cut.
The combination of prevention and prosecution in France has signicatly reduced FGM in that country.
Twelve African countries have enacted laws criminalizing the procedure. Several other countries have also imposed monetary fines. In Egypt, the Ministry of Health issued a decree declaring FGM unlawful and punishable under the Penal Code.
8) Killings of women due to accusations of sorcery/witchcraft
Based on HelpAge International’s definition, witchcraft related femicide is the killing of women who have been suspected/accused of causing harm to others by supernatural means.
In the majority of cases witchcraft allegations are linked to personal jealousy, and disputes between neighbors or family over land and other inheritance.
Although it occurs in countries, such as Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal and Tanzania, the problem is much more widespread than this.
In most of these countries, belief in witchcraft is common, with people from all sections of society sharing this belief regardless of their level of educition, socio-economic group or ethnic origin.
Torture used against accused witches, Year:1577
BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
HelpAge International and local NGO partners have focused on community interventions.
Committee members are being taught about women’s rights and they try to educate the people about the harmful consequences of witchcraft allegations and misconceptions about HIV and other illnesses which the local people cannot explain.
HelpAge International indicates that attitudes are changing, and, as a result the number of killings has reduced.
9) Torture and misogynist slaying of women
According to Webster’s Dictionary, misogny is having or showing hatred or distrust of women.
However, recent debates show that a modern understanding of misogyny tends to encompass ‘an entrenched prejudice against women, as well as a pathological hatred of them.’ [Emphasis mine]
In her book Misogynies, Joan Smith also suggests that while most people acknowledge unfair treatment of women and discrimination on the basis of gender, many are reluctant to admit the underlying feelings of hatred of women, which seem to perpetually resurface and help to maintain the patriarchal patterning of society.
Misogyny becomes dangerous when attitudes and behavior are translated into physical forms of violence.
The brutal killing of women and girls, along with related crimes such as rape and sexual torture, carry powerful overtones of misogyny, and are a present reality in both developed and developing countries.
These murders have influenced how women live their lives throughout the world, avoiding areas or walking alone at night. It has created an atmosphere of gendered fear that is more muted or entirely absent in the case of men, even though men can also be victims of homicide.
Serial killings of women, although far less frequents than domestic murder, are also known to carry strong connotations of misogyny.
During the twentieth century, the United States witnessed a series of serial killers that preyed on women: from Richard Speck and Albert DeSalvo (also known as the ‘Boston Strangler’) to Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez.
[I am adding the current Gilgo Beach serial killings of seven women. The murderer, Rex Heuermann, was a Manhattan-based architect and Massapequa Park, Long Island resident. A judge just declared (September 2025) that Heuermann will stand a single trial in late 2026 on the murders of the seven women.]
Psychological Profile:
Serial killings are misogyny carried to the extreme. The profiles of serial killers are similar to those of rapists, controlled by an unfulfilled psychosexual need, men with low self-esteem and problems with gender and control. There is frequently a power differential between men and women that plays into the psychology of the offender.
BEST PRACTICE AND EXAMPLES:
Currently, thousands of projects are underway, working to eliminate all forms of violence and prejudice against women.
Some of the core principles guiding such projects are:
—Empowering vulnerable women through knowledge and awareness
—Strengthening media sensitization against violence against women
—Addressing trafficking of women
—Increasing women’s participation in decision-making processes in political, economic and social sectors of society
—Working closely with men in addressing those issues
[I add the recent empowerment in September 2025 of victims of the Epstein/Maxwell pedophile and trafficking case described near the end of this post.
Many survivors have told their stories in the past—to deaf ears. Now they are publicly joining together and speaking out in collaborative support of each other.]
Nevertheless, from all of the acts of violence against women above, one thing is clear:
—It is women who return at night clutching the keys tightly in fear that they may not return home safely.
—It is women who walk past construction sites and are whistled at, name-called and sexually harassed.
—It is women who get accused of being ‘witches’, ‘bitches’, and not equipped to be in positions of authority.
While homicide is also a reality for men, acts of violence through rape and serial killings is almost absent in the case of men.
Misogyny is entrenched in every part of the world.
It is a reality for most women and while there are laws and policies in place that aim to eliminate forms of discrimination against women, there is need of preventive action to ensure safety of women around the world.
10) Other gender-based murders connected with gangs, drug dealers, human trafficking, and the proliferation of small arms.
The adoption of the term "femicide" by international and national criminal justice systems would enable reinforcement and criminalization by differentiating it from other types of homicide, as it is already the case in Chile and Argentina.
Experts testified that this change of legislation has had an impact on the number of femicides which has begun to drop already, as far as Chile is concerned.
An important outcome of this symposium was the signature of the "Vienna Declaration on Femicide" by over 150 individuals, including a number of ambassadors and some 10 Member States.
My Conclusion:
I believe that a deeper understanding of the root cause of femicide will only be furthered if we travel back in time and include a study of those ancient civilizations with the subsequent incursions by warrior cultures and the systematic destruction of the woman-centered, peaceable and prolific civilizations—while bringing along with their invasions the desire to control and suppress women.
Especially important would be to examine the part that religion has played—and still does—in the current sustenance of violence toward women and girls (see my previous post: When God Was a Woman).
IN YOUR OWN WORDS:
Preview of Current Post: “Femicide and Patriarchy” Written by Anne Andersson on September 26, 2025
—Scary stuff! 😱 —MA
—The “UN Symposium Types of Femicide” is necessary and good to include. It helps the reader understand the wide variety of acts against women. —CA
C:WED’s new section:
WOMEN SPEAK OUT.
BELIEVE THE WOMEN.
Listen! Hear! Believe!
Backstory:
“Missing from governmental discussions of the Epstein/Maxwell pedophile and trafficking of girls and women story have been the voices of the survivors.
TODAY’S FEATURED WOMAN IS: ANNIE FARMER
(Annie is the younger sister of Maria Farmer whom we highlighted in a previous post.)
ABC News’ Linsey Davis speaks to Annie Farmer who is one of Jeffery Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s accusers and reacts to the latest push for answers in the Epstein case.
https://youtu.be/N7x-2VRg2m4?si=RhaBDt1XCpDklh2z
For more about this subject:
The 2020 Netflix original, four-part docuseries, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, presents a detailed account of Epstein’s abuse and those who enabled him. Survivors also share their own stories.
https://www.netflix.com/title/80224905
WISH TO BE PROACTIVE?
CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES:
—Urge your House members to support:
H.R.4405—Epstein Files Transparency Act
—In the Senate, the bill is:
S.2557—Epstein Files Transparency Act
—Urge your Senators to support it.
119TH CONGRESS
A BILL
To direct the Attorney General to make publicly available documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Epstein Files Transparency Act.
STATUS OF THE BILL—as of September 26, 2025 (AI Overview)
Senate: The Epstein Files Transparency Act (S. 2557) was introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley in July 2025. It has not yet passed the committee stage. Republicans blocked the act in the Senate in September 2025.
House of Representatives: A similar bill, H.R. 4405, was introduced in July 2025 by Representative Ro Khanna.
Discharge petition: In September 2025, a bipartisan group of House members, including Representative Thomas Massie, collected the necessary signatures for a discharge petition to force a floor vote on a resolution compelling the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all federal files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The petition needed 218 signatures, which were secured after a special election in Arizona.
News reports indicate that some top House Republicans and White House allies have been working to prevent the vote from happening.
From The Center Square: Massie will be able to bring the controversial bill to the floor without sending it through committee due to receiving enough signatures on a discharge petition [H.Res.581]. He currently has 217 lawmakers on board and will gain the last necessary signature as soon as newly elected Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., is sworn in.
Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.; and Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; are the only Republicans besides Massie to have signed the petition. Assuming they maintain their support for the bill, it will pass the House and move on to the Senate, where its future is uncertain.
—Ask your House members and Senators to stand with the survivors who are seeking an investigation and full release of un-redacted Epstein files.
—Thank members who stand with the survivors!
HERE’S HOW:
FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE:
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
CONTACT U.S. SENATORS:
https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
PAPER STILL WORKS:
Handwritten or typed letters mailed in the U.S. Post Office are still considered an effective way to communicate with your representatives, according to the U.S. Capitol - Visitor Center.
https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/CVC_CraftVideo_FollowAlong_Letters.pdf
The link offers a guideline on how to format and compose a letter to your member of Congress.
C:WED WISH LIST:
Please consider this:
When we have completed our study of Ecofeminism with our examination of the Image of God (in just a few more posts), we will revert to a more leisurely posting time frame
We will also cover more general topics of choice, while remaining within our framework of Women, the Earth, and the Divine.
—Perhaps you might suggest a topic for the C:WED blog.
We are so pleased that two members of our C:WED family who have proposed topics.
One topic relates to potential lessons we might learn from the animal and insect worlds that are led by the females of the species.
The other is a question from the theological world, specifically about the Lord’s Prayer (The Our Father) and the issue of praying it within a patriarchal paradigm.
We look forward to addressing these topics in upcoming posts.
We would love to hear from you!
—Please do send suggestions to: info@cwed.org
—PLEASE keep reading our posts!
—PLEASE spread the word about us!
Share our website with your friends, relatives, and colleagues: www.cwed.org
—As always, we appreciate your contribution of any amount!
Your help keeps us technologically alive.
