Femicide in Germany – Data and characteristics

• In Event: Gender, Crime and Justice Working Group Panel 3: Femicide

Abstract

In the contemporary criminological discourse, femicide and its defining features are under intense discussion. One aspect of this discourse concerns the delineation of which instances of homicide and related acts should be classified as femicide. Furthermore, there persists a notable scarcity of statistical data concerning the prevalence of femicide. Consequently, reliable empirical data regarding the frequency of femicides are largely unavailable for most countries. In an effort to shed light on this debate, the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony, in collaboration with the Institute of Criminology at the University of Tübingen, initiated the project “Femicide in Germany”. This project undertakes the analysis of killings involving female victims with the aim of scrutinizing gender-based violence. We present preliminary data from our research project. Through this presentation, we provide initial insights into both the quantity and characteristics of femicides within the German context.

Author

• Paulina Lutz, Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony, Germany