Killing Women for Being Women

Media Coverage of Freiburg's Femicide Project

Femicide refers to the killing of girls and women because of their gender. A number of Latin American countries have introduced femicide as a separate criminal offense, but this is not the case in Germany. A research project at the Max Planck Institute is investigating and comparing the legal situation in eleven countries in Europe and the Americas. The aim is to find out whether femicide should be treated differently from other homicides and whether the creation of a separate offense is needed. Media outlets such as “Der Spiegel” have recently drawn attention to this critical issue.

When a woman is killed, the crime is often referred to as femicide. But not every killing of a woman is a femicide, which makes it difficult to define the offense. One frequent type of femicide is when a woman is killed because she doesn't fit traditional roles or expectations, for example when she wants to leave her partner or make other life decisions independently.

German courts do not recognize the concept of femicide. It is not possible to punish a crime differently simply because the victim is a woman. Lawyers refer to this as the “principle of equality”.

This is handled differently in other countries. Most Latin American countries have already introduced femicide as a separate criminal offense. In Italy, plans are underway to do so. A research project at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law is investigating and comparing the legal situation in eleven countries in Europe and the Americas. The three Max Planck researchers Konstanze Jarvers, Emily Silverman, and Cristina Valega Chipoco want to find out which criminal offense definitions and sentencing rules are most effective and whether it could be helpful to introduce a separate criminal offense of femicide. A network of country rapporteurs is supporting the three legal scholars. The findings should be available in 2026.

German press reviews:

“Unsere Gesetzeslage ist ungerecht”. Interview with Konstanze Jarvers in the news magazine “Der Spiegel“. 08.03.2025 (paywall)

“Nicht jede Tötung einer Frau ist ein Femizid”. Interview with Konstanze Jarvers on the radio station “Deutschlandfunk Nova”. 18.03.2025

“Femizid in Deutschland: Wenn Schutz versagt”. Interview with Konstanze Jarvers on the TV channel 3Sat‘s program “Kulturzeit“. 19.03.2025