Countries: Cuba
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"Everything condenses something palpable, denounced by feminist voices for years: in Cuba there is no legal or institutional order that responds coherently to events of such magnitude" (para 5). "For both cases — the femicide and the Bécquer case — 'the full weight of the law' has been requested, within the framework of the new Penal Code, which provides for more severe penalties for cases of gender-based violence. But it is not about more years of imprisonment or more drastic penalties" (para 10). "As feminists, we appeal to criminal justice based on facts, that it guarantees reparation and non-repetition as minimum prerequisites that accompany criminal justice from situated gender perspectives.1...more

Countries: Honduras
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"'Honduran women, I will not fail you, I will defend your rights, all your rights, count on me,' said Castro, whose resounding election victory ended a dozen years of conservative rule and generated high hopes for change in a country with one of the highest rates of femicide and most restrictive laws against reproductive rights in Latin America" (para 2).

Countries: China
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"Domestic violence in China has become a more visible issue in recent years, but the first law that specifically targets the problem was only passed in 2015" (para 2). "By using mediation as the primary method in treating domestic violence cases, the Anti-Domestic Violence Law fails to acknowledge the potential negative impacts of mediation on victim safety. The pervasive use of mediation fails to assign blame and punish abusers, and thus contributes to the continuation and vicious cycle of long-term abuse against women" (para 9).

Countries: Cambodia
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"[The state adopted law] on regulating concentrated acid, in December 2011, which, inter alia, introduces the requirement that public hospitals provide medical care free of charge to survivors of acid attacks, who are predominantly women, and Sub-Decree No. 48 on the Formalities and Conditions for Strong Acid Control, in January 2013, which allows for increased sentences for perpetrators of acid attacks and includes provisions to limit the sale and distribution of dangerous acids" (2).

Countries: Australia
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced plans for the bold new legislation in a stirring speech on Tuesday, telling state Parliament: 'We have listened'. The major reform was a key recommendation of the landmark Hear Her Voice report handed down in December by Justice Margaret McMurdo's and the Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce in the wake of the quadruple murder-suicide" (Para. 2-3).

Countries: Mexico
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"Mexico City legislators have proposed a bill bearing her nickname, “Malena,” which would classify acid attacks as a distinct, serious crime equivalent to attempted femicide. Currently they are treated as simple assault or bodily injury." (para 8)

Countries: Nepal
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"The Witchcraft related Accusation (Offence and Punishment) Act, 2015 has been enforced aiming at eliminating the superstitious belief and harmful traditional practice of witchcraft allegation against women and men. It criminalizes the practices of inflicting torture, cruelty, inhumane and degrading treatment upon the person accused of witchcraft. Similarly, the Act also incorporates the provisions on victim support and compensation." (8). "The GoN has been undertaking sectoral interventions to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girl children. Caste Based Discrimination and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Act, 2011, Witchcraft related Accusation (Offence and Punishment) Act, 2015, and Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Control) Act, 2014, are landmark legislations to maintain gender...more

Countries: Iraq
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"[A]rticles 128, 130 and 131 of the Penal Code [states] that perpetrators of crimes committed in the name of 'honour' cannot invoke the defence of honour as a mitigating circumstance for homicide" (6). This includes women (MV-coder comment).

Countries: Iran
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"Under Iranian law, the death penalty can be imposed for financial crimes, rape and armed robbery" (para 18). "Other activities protected by international human rights law such as homosexual acts, extramarital sexual relations and speech deemed 'insulting to the Prophet of Islam' as well as vaguely-worded offences such as 'enmity against God' and 'spreading corruption on earth' are also punishable by death" (para 19).

Countries: Spain
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"Though the term femicide—instances of women killed by men on account of their gender—wasn’t included in Spanish dictionaries until 2014, violence against women came into brutal focus with the murder of Ana Orantes in 1997, a woman from Granada who shocked the public, first when she spoke on an evening TV program about the abuse she suffered at her ex-husband’s hands for 40 years, and 13 days later, when her ex set her ablaze. Newspapers began tracking gender-based murders around 2000. In 2003, the government created its own registry, logging the number of women killed by partners or former partners. An independent study that includes femicides committed by men with...more

Countries: United Arab Emirates
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"The penal code also requires all individuals to pay diya to victims’ families in cases where accidents or crimes caused the death of another person, and media reported multiple cases of courts imposing this punishment. Diya was granted by the judge in criminal cases at the time of sentencing. Standard diya for the death of a man was 200,000 AED ($54,500) and 100,000 AED ($27,225) for the death of a woman. In some cases, sharia courts imposed more severe penalties during the month of Ramadan" (11).

Countries: Bolivia
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"One of the most violent countries for women, Bolivia has had a law since 2013 that punishes femicide with 30 years imprisonment without the right to pardon." (ppara16).

Countries: Peru
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"The law defines femicide as the killing of a woman or girl based on expectations, assumptions, or factors distinctive to her gender. The minimum sentence for femicide is 20 years, and 30 years when the crime includes aggravating circumstances (e.g., crimes against minor, elderly, or pregnant victims). Enforcement of these laws was often ineffective" (13).

Countries: Colombia
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1

"...By law femicide is punishable with penalties of 21 to 50 years in prison, longer than the minimum sentence of 13 years for homicide" (24). "The law augments both imprisonment and fines if a crime causes 'transitory or permanent physical disfigurement,' such as acid attacks, which have a penalty of up to 50 years in prison" (25).

Countries: Paraguay
Variables: MURDER-LAW-1, MURDER-DATA-2

"Femicide remained a serious problem. A 2016 law criminalizes femicide and mandates a sentence of between 10 and 30 years in prison upon conviction. As of October 1, the Observatory of Women’s Affairs within the Ministry of Women’s Affairs reported 25 cases of femicide, a significantly lower number than the previous year’s total of 59 cases. July was the first month since the enactment of the law against femicide with no reported cases of femicide" (13-14).