According to estimates provided by the WHO (2021), approximately one in three (30%) women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual physical abuse at some point in their lives. The majority of this violence occurs between intimate partners. Nearly a third (27%) of women aged 15 to 49 who have been in a relationship worldwide say their intimate partner has abused them physically or sexually in some way. Violence may have a detrimental impact on a woman's physical, emotional, sexual, and reproductive health and, in some circumstances, may raise her chance of contracting HIV.

Femicide is a serious issue that affects women worldwide, and researchers have identified various risk factors that increase the likelihood of femicide occurring. Femicide risk factors encompass a range of factors such as GBV, prior abuse by the perpetrator, demographics including age and relationship status, access to firearms, threats with weapons, pregnancy or abuse during pregnancy, education and employment status, unemployment, feelings of inadequacy or power loss, controlling behavior, limited exposure, jealousy, possessiveness, suspicions of infidelity, forced sexual intercourse, and mental health issues. These factors contribute to the heightened vulnerability of women to femicide. However, not all risk factors carry the same level of danger, and people must understand each variable's proper role to create an accurate model that will allow them to build preventative measures.

The relationship between GBV and femicide is complicated and people hold many different perspectives. Stamatel (2016) mentions that in the existing literature there are three prevalent perspectives on the relation between gender equality and femicides:

1. The Amelioration hypothesis, 
2. The backlash hypothesis and 
3. The factor of economic marginalization.

According to the amelioration hypothesis, as women's equality rises, GBV should decline. Contrastingly, the backlash hypothesis outlines the phenomenon that as women's equality and social status increases men feel threatened by their loss of status and thus retaliate with GBV. Lastly, economic marginalization is an additional important factor as womens' economic status makes them vulnerable to violence.

Gender-based violence, a specific form of violence against women, could serve as a stepping stone to femicides. However, despite the association between gender equality and decreased likelihood of GBV and femicide victimization, more research is needed to investigate the precise extent of this relationship.
 

This Dossier is part of a living lab project from Groningen University, Campus Fryslân. This project offers students a unique opportunity to apply their academic knowledge and skills in real-world scenarios. The living lab is a key component of the bachelor's degree program in global responsibility and leadership. Our team, comprised of Lee, Josefina, and Linde, collaborated with UNSA Vienna & Femicide watch and undertook an academic systematic literature review focused on conceptualizations, prevalence rates, measurements, risk factors, policies, and interventions of femicides in Europe, with a specific focus on the Netherlands. The findings presented in this dossier serve as an output of our research.

Bradbury-Jones, C., Appleton, J. V., Clark, M., & Paavilainen, E. (2017). A Profile of Gender-Based Violence Research in Europe: Findings From a Focused Mapping Review and Synthesis. Sage Journals, 20(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017719234

EuroStat. (2022). EU survey on gender-based violence against woman and other forms of inter-personal violence. Retrieved June 15, 2023, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-statistical-reports/w/ks-ft-22-005

Stamatel, J. P. (2016). Money Matters: Dissecting the Relationship Between Gender Equality and Female Homicide Victimization Rates in the European Union. Feminist Criminology, 13(5), 435–455. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085116667480

What is gender-based violence? (n.d.). European Commission. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/gender-based-violence/what-gender-based-violence_en

World Health Organization: WHO. (2021). Violence against women. www.who.int. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women