Femicide: “Most dangerous place for women: their own household”

Many people are still not aware of how common femicides are in this country, said the chairwoman of UN Women Germany in an interview. She explains where sexual violence begins and how laws help shape the perception of actions.

tagesschau.de: Every third woman worldwide experiences verbal and physical attacks at least once in her life, with which she is belittled, threatened or injured as a woman. Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, an increase in such attacks has been registered in many places – including in Germany. Why is the struggle against it apparently not making headway?

Elke Ferner: In crisis situations – whether it is war, flight or a pandemic – inequalities deepen and violence against women increases. This was also shown in Germany during the corona lockdown: Many women in a violent situation were stuck at home and had no opportunity to communicate or get support to get out of their situation.

The existing offers of help in Germany are good compared to some other countries, but they are by no means sufficient. There are still too few places in women’s shelters that should be there for acute emergency aid, and far too few offers for the time afterwards – protected rooms and support on the way back to self-employment.

The Protection Against Violence Act introduced in 2002, with which perpetrators can be expelled from their homes and a ban on contact and proximity, is an important instrument. Unfortunately, it is not used consistently. It also depends on how sensitized the police officers and prosecutors are to gender-based violence.

“It starts with everyday sexism”

tagesschau.de: What is missing there?

Further: Emergency calls for women have been established in Germany since the 1970s, and women’s shelters of various sponsorships have been set up – but two problems have remained to this day: that these initiatives always fight for funding and that if a woman dares to report an attack or rape, there is not always a police officer or a mixed emergency team. The national average of women in the police force is still less than 20 percent. It should actually be part of basic police training on how to deal with gender-based violence and how to behave in an acute situation – and be sensitive to the victims.

In the judiciary, compulsory further training should be considered, because so far it is a matter for the federal states and it is left to the judges themselves which further training they attend. We must make everyone who speaks and enforces the law aware of the appropriate sanctioning of gender-based violence and the application of corresponding conventions such as the Istanbul Convention, which is also the law in our country. I think that works best when there are law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who focus on it. To ensure that all victims have access to the support system, we need a legal right to protection and help against gender-based violence.

tagesschau.de: Gender-based violence is defined in conventions and laws as physical, psychological and sexual violence against persons because of their gender – in the vast majority of cases it affects girls, women and persons read by women. What are the specific actions involved?

Further: It basically starts with everyday sexism and ends with femicides. Because they all have one thing in common: the perpetrators are mostly men who claim power over women and want to enforce it.

Every woman has at least verbally experienced sexual harassment and was then faced with the question: Do I even react to it or do I better get away to avoid worse? This is a situation men seldom get into. That alone makes a gender-specific difference, which many are not aware of – just as there are no corresponding assaults and criminal offenses.

“No question of social class”

tagesschau.de: How can this lack of awareness be explained? The figures show that gender-based violence is not just a widespread problem in other regions of the world such as Eastern Europe and Latin America, but also in Germany – to the same extent as the global average.

Further: I can only explain it to myself by the fact that the numbers are not known to many. The shock number in recent years was yes: that in Germany every third day a woman is killed by a man from her immediate environment – usually the ex-partner or partner. Many still cannot imagine that. The number has only become public awareness since the crime statistics separately recorded the victim-perpetrator relationship.

To do this, however, the prosecution must first have recognized and established that it is a question of femicide, i.e. the murder of a woman for a misogynist motive. And it must be made aware that this is not a question of social class or social class, but can happen to every woman in Germany. The most dangerous place for women is their own household!

That is why it is so important to publish the numbers not just once a year as statistics or on action days, but whenever cases are reported. And it plays a big role how femicides are talked about: The word “act of relationship” suggests something completely different than the words “homicide” or “murder”! The wording we use has an impact on how society perceives such cases.

tagesschau.de: What is the connection between misogynist acts of violence, their social perception and their criminal prosecution?

Further: In the past, after a woman was raped, she was very often blamed: Did she dress “sexy”, let herself be kissed and touched? In the understanding of many, she had already agreed to everything else. Until 2016, the Federal Court of Justice interpreted Section 177 of the Criminal Code – sexual assault, sexual assault and rape – in such a way that women not only say no, but also have to defend themselves massively in order for the offense of rape to be considered fulfilled. At the same time, every police station says: For God’s sake, do not defend yourself, because you could pay for that with your life if you were raped!

In 2016 the rape paragraph in the Bundestag was changed. Since then, the principle “no means no” has applied. Sexual acts with a person are also punishable if they are unable to form or express their opposing will. And that has done something: more crimes are reported, from sexual harassment to rape, and more perpetrators are convicted. The way of thinking has also changed as a result – among lawyers and in society. That is why we should include misogyny in the act as an aggravating motive in the law.

“What role stereotypes are there?”

tagesschau.de: How does this change in mindset succeed – towards victim protection and away from focusing on the perpetrator?

Further: Of course, the following applies in the legal system: In case of doubt, for the accused. It must be possible to prove a crime in order to be convicted. But legislation – that is, the introduction and structuring of the content of laws – is not only effective in its application and enforcement, but also shapes public awareness of right and wrong.

In the end it is relatively simple: if people would learn to treat other people with equal respect regardless of their gender; when men make themselves aware: would I want what I’m doing to happen to my girlfriend, my sister, my daughter, my mother? – then some things would change.

The question is: What images of women do we have in the media? What role stereotypes are there for women and for men? Do men always have to be the tough determining types or isn’t an alleged weakness also a strength? It starts with the little ones – and with it, which image, which options for action we convey to them at home, in daycare centers and in school books: Does the gender-specific role stereotype cement or does it break them down? Then I think something can change too.

Interview conducted by Jasper Steinlein, tagesschau.de