What is Femicide?

 

Image description: Banner with text “What is Femicide?” on background of tree line and starry night.

You deserve support.

Dawson Women’s Shelter’s 24 Hour Support Line is available for survivors and their allies who would like confidential listening - 867.993.5086.

“Femicide is the killing of women and girls because of their gender.

Femicide can include:

  1. The murder of women as a result of intimate partner violence;

  2. The torture and misogynist slaying of women;

  3. Killing of women and girls in the name of “ honour”;

  4. Targeted killing of women and girls in the context of armed conflict;

  5. Dowry-related killings of women;

  6. Killing of women and girls because of their sexual orientation and gender identity;

  7. The killing of aboriginal and indigenous women and girls because of their gender;

  8. Female infanticide and gender-based sex selection foeticide;

  9. Genital mutilation related femicide;

  10. Accusations of witchcraft and

  11. Other femicides connected with gangs, organized crime, drug dealers, human trafficking, and the proliferation of small arms,”

Femicide is not just women or girls being killed, they are killed BECAUSE of their gender.

“Among the victims of all intentional killings involving intimate partners, more than 80% of victims are women.”
— Femicide Watch Initiative

This isn’t a problem in Canada, right?

Although it can be tempting to think that femicide is something that happens far away and not in our neighbourhoods, sadly, the murder of women and girls because of their gender is still a massive problem everywhere in the world.

  • Approximately every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner

  • Indigenous women are killed at nearly seven times the rate of non-Indigenous women

  • Other research suggests that Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada and 16 times more likely than non-Indigenous women

  • Nunavut, North West Territories, and Yukon have the highest rates of femicide in Canada

  • Yukon has rate of femicide in Canada four times that of the national average

  • From 1997-2015, none of the women murdered in Yukon were killed by a stranger

Femicide Facts

  • Women are five times more at risk of being killed by their partner than men are

  • Close to one half (48%) of all solved homicides involving a female victim were committed by a spouse or other intimate partner.

  • Family members (other than a parent) were perpetrators in 22 percent of female homicides, followed by casual acquaintances (14%), parents (6%), strangers (6%), and criminal acquaintances (3%).

    While men were most often killed by a casual acquaintance (45%), criminal acquaintance (16%) or a stranger (16%).

  • Regardless of what the gender of the victim is, men are most often perpetrators of murder

  • From 1975 to 2015 the rate of intimate partner homicide for men in Canada has dropped by 69%.

    • Some have attributed this drop to the violence against women and shelter movement as the number of shelters in Canada grew from one in 1973 to 545 in 2020.

  • The most dangerous time for a survivor of abuse is when they are leaving the relationship

  • Almost 60% of police-reported dating violence happens after the relationship has ended


We have to talk about race, Gender diversity, and Sexuality too

We know that racism, hatred of queer and trans folks, as well as sexism puts oppressed folks at risk of violence.

When we talk about femicide we need to talk about the fact that trans women, queer women, gender diverse folks, and all racialized women experience ridiculously high rates of violence.

  • In the US, femicide is the leading cause of death for Black women aged 15 to 34 years-old

  • Most of the fatalities on the 2020 list of fatal deaths of trans and gender diverse folks are Black, Indigenous, or racialized folks. We cannot ignore that racism, colonialism, and trans hatred are all connected.

  • An Indigenous person in Canada is more than 10 times more likely to have been shot and killed by a police officer in Canada since 2017 than a white person in Canada

  • Indigenous Canadians are 11 times more likely than non-Indigenous Canadians to be accused of homicide

  • Indigenous Canadians are 56 per cent more likely to be victims of crime than other Canadians

  • In 2016, Indigenous Canadians represented 25 per cent of the national male prison population and 35 per cent of the national female prison population when Indigenous peoples are only 4.5 per cent of the Canadian population.

I’m Worried about a Friend

There are many paths to ending femicide: education, policy change, legislative reform, data and documentation, changing how femicide is covered in the media, and more. But the actions we have the most control over day to day is how we respond when we see abuse happening, when we’re worried about a friend being abuse, or when we think our friend might be abusive.

If you are worried a friend being abuse, please:

  • Believe them.

  • Let them know it’s not their fault. They did not cause the assault.

  • Listen. Listen. Listen. This can be really difficult as we want to jump in and help, but please sit with them and listen. It can be a really big gift to your friend.

  • Validate what ever feelings they are having. There is no right or wrong way to feel after an assault.

  • Ask their permission before doing research or sharing their story. Sexual assault takes a tremendous amount of power away from survivors. Trusting survivors to make their own decisions after an assault is key.

  • Ask if they’d like to explore options instead of giving advice. Avoid ‘shoulds’ , ‘musts’, and pressuring your friend to do what you think is right. Survivors get to choose what happens next. You can ask if they would like more information about getting medial care, collecting evidence, or reporting options, and as supporters, we have to be OK with the possibility of hearing ‘no’. Get to know the resources that they might need. Click here to learn about Dawson City helpers.

  • Get support for yourself. It can be tremendously hard to sit with a friend who has been hurt. You deserve support too. The tricky part can be getting confidential support. You’re the expert at taking care of yourself and know that DWS’ 24 Hour Support Line has got your back to help to brainstorm resources and with confidential supportive listening - 867.993.5086.

    • More information and ideas about supporting survivors here

If you are worried about a friend being abusive, from Neighbours, Friends, and Families:

Here is what you can do when you recognize the warning signs of abuse:

  • Choose the right time and place to have a full discussion.

  • Approach him when he is calm.

  • Be direct and clear about what you have seen.

  • Tell him that his behaviour is his responsibility. Avoid making judgmental comments about him as a person. Don’t validate his attempt to blame others for his behaviour .

  • Inform him that his behaviour needs to stop.

  • Don’t try to force him to change or to seek help.

  • Tell him that you are concerned for the safety of his partner and children.

  • Never argue with him about his abusive actions. Recognize that confrontational, argumentative approaches may make the situation worse and put her at higher risk.

  • Call a shelter or an abused woman’s support line for support or ideas.

If he denies the abuse:

  • Men who are abusive will often minimize the impact and deny that they have done anything wrong. They may state that it isn’t that bad or blame the victim for their actions. This type of behaviour deflects his own responsibility for his actions.

  • Keep your conversation focused on your concerns for his family’ s safety and well-being and reiterate that abuse is never an answer.

  • Keep the lines of communication open and look for opportunities to help him find support.

If you see someone being abusive:

Delegate

Don't go it alone. Gather your peeps. Who is near that can help? A friend? Security staff? Even if it's just to confirm that the behaviour is not OK.

  • "I think she needs our help, but I don't know what to do. Have any ideas?"

  • "Will you watch while I go chat with them?"

Direct

Approach either the person being targeted or the person doing the harassing and be direct.

  • "Are you OK?"

  • "Can I help you?"

  • "That's not OK."

  • "You need to stop."

Distract

Think of a way to distract the folks involved in the situation: either the person being targeted or the person doing the harassing.

  • "Can you take a pic of my friends and I?"

  • "What time is it?"

  • "Where's the washrooms?"

  • "That's a FAB outfit! Where did you get it?"

  • "My friend's gone missing. Can you help me find them?"

Document

Make a record or keep your eye on the situation in case it escalates.

Need Support?

Yukon Supports:


Canada-wide Supports:

Assaulted Women’s Helpline
Toll-free: 1 866-863-0511

First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line
Toll-free: 1-855-242-3310

National Suicide Prevention Hotline
Toll-free: 1-800-273-8255

Kid's Help Phone
24 hours a day 7 days a week
Toll-free: 1-800-668-6868 www.kidshelpphone.ca
Text Services: Text “CONNECT” to 686868

More Resources

  1. Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls - read it here

  2. Changing the Story to Upholding Dignity and Justice: Yukon’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-spirit+ People Strategy - read it here

  3. Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability

Take Action

Visit our page on taking action of lots of everyday actions!

November 25 to December 10 is 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence. Keep in the loop about events and actions!

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