Criminal reaction to Women murdering in Latin America in 21st century

Abstract

The objective of this study is to understand the specific criminal type known as murder of a woman for reasons of gender, based on a comparative analysis of its legal scope across Latin American legislations between 2007 and 2020, taking the Brazilian system as the starting point. Feminicide and femicide were the two main terms analysed here; each displays its own conceptual, legal and political means in its application and the struggles associated with its use. The methodology focused on developing a comparative study of women's rights based on what is protected and why, what is criminalised and condemned, and whether these rights are only informed by penal perspectives or refer to mainstream laws to reduce criminality. The analysed period (2007-2020) is divided into three moments and parsed from a criminal policy perspective, considering in particular the penalties and the coordination with other programs and mainstream policies to combat gender-based violence. In general, legislations opt for purely criminal-law measures without the necessary synergy with further programs, without consistency in the meaning of the terms adopted, and with difficulties to determine the offenders’ sex. We conclude that the general tendency in Latin America is one which uses feminicide/feminicide without clear and cohesive criteria in the provisions of the Criminal Codes and lacks coordination with general programs and laws on gender-based violence. Finally, the scope of legal protection is generally limited to "woman" in a biological dimension.