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Five minutes to understand why the word feminicide should not be included in the Criminal Code

2020-02-25T15:03:18.226Z


A parliamentary report recommends encouraging the use of the word feminicide but not including it in the penal code. Explanations.


149 feminicides were committed on French territory during the year 2019 according to the "feminicides by companion or ex" collective. The term has, over the past year, left only the news section to be observed as a real social problem. An awareness first of all in the media, which was then taken up by politicians through the Grenelle on domestic violence and more recently still through a parliamentary report "on the recognition of the term feminicide".

In the preamble, there is first a controversy over the definition of this term. The word feminicide, which first appeared in the United States in 1992, means "the murder of a woman, a girl because of her sex". But it is more and more used to designate the murders of women by their spouses or ex.

More generally, it is above all a debate between feminist associations which ask for its criminal recognition and certain jurists who consider it useless. The former however consider that it allows to better take into account the fact that there are many more murders of women by their spouses or ex-male spouses than the reverse (more than four times more in France), thus illustrating the "culture of male domination" that persists in many countries.

No registration in the Criminal Code

To close this debate, last week, the delegation for women's rights of the National Assembly made its conclusions in its report: the use of the word feminicide must be encouraged in everyday life, in the media and within the administration to emphasize the specificity of this violence against women, but without being included in the Criminal Code.

An observation against the media noise that the rapporteur assumes after extensive consultation. "At the end of my report, it became obvious, when it was not," said Parisian MP Val-d'Oise Fiona Lazaar.

"We have what it takes in the legislative arsenal"

The reasons for this choice are multiple and respond above all to the concerns of magistrates and justice stakeholders. "Introducing the word feminicide could symbolically reinforce things, but there were fears," further clarifies the rapporteur.

"The first reason is that, via the aggravating circumstances, we already have penalties that can go as far as life in the Criminal Code," details the parliamentarian. We have what it takes in the legislative arsenal. ”

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Indeed, the criminal law in force already sanctions femicides more heavily, even if they are not so named. Over the years, the aggravating circumstances have been gradually extended and severely punish the murders of women when they are motivated by sexist logic.

Risk of unconstitutionality

The other point which motivated this conclusion: the risk of acquittal of the author in the event of "feminicide empowerment". Fiona Lazaar explains: “If you are unable to prove the aggravating circumstance, it does not currently apply, but the author can still be convicted of murder. "But, in the event that" we cannot characterize feminicide, the offense would fall, continues the elected official. Potentially, the person could be acquitted when they would have committed unspeakable ”. Clearly, this would result in less protection for women victims.

Finally, the last argument against the word feminicide in the legal armada, "this could favor the introduction of a bias contrary to the universalism of the law and unconstitutionality. These are fundamental principles of our Republic that should not be touched on, ”observes Fiona Lazaar again. The introduction of this term in the penal code would imply that it would be more serious to kill a woman than a man.

"Enforce existing laws"

For Caroline De Haas, of the Nous Tous collective, this report does not change the underlying problem. "I don't understand why MPs don't spend more time questioning the government rather than making reports," said the feminist activist.

“It could have been one of several legal tools. But there is not necessarily a need to redo laws, we especially need them to be applied, ”further analyzes the trainer on violence against women. “Take protection orders, for example, it is almost never requested in France, because judges do not issue them. Last year there were 23,000 in Spain, in France only 1,300, ”she criticizes.

“Above all, an ambitious violence prevention policy must be put in place. The budget allocated in 2020 is almost the same as 2019, the increase of barely 5% is too low, ”insists Caroline De Haas.

Institutionalize "feminicide"

At the end of her report, Fiona Lazaar finally recommends “sanctifying the word feminicide: a single dictionary has integrated it, why does the Academy not recognize it? It has to be institutionalized. Going further, offers a resolution for its use in all spheres. It is a useful term including in the training of judges. The Chancellery does not see any difficulties there. ”

A point of view shared by Zoé Royaux, spokesperson for the Women's Foundation. “We are not disappointed that the word is not in the Criminal Code. What matters is that the facts be punished. What we find important is that we can use this term in the judicial sphere and that everyone uses this word, ”confides the criminal lawyer.

This megaphone catches the ball with the leap of this desire for "sanctuarization" to go further. "This should make us think about accounting for them officially. The government should measure them in real terms and no longer leave this responsibility to an association or the media, ”suggests the representative of the feminist collective.

Source: leparis

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