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No Two Courts See It the Same Way
Here is where things get complicated. Ask one judge what femicide looks like, and they will tell you it involves a partner or ex-partner. Ask another, and they will say prior violence or a hate motive needs to be present. A third might want both. There is no single standard, and that gap in the system is causing real problems.
What makes this even more striking is how rarely the word "femicide" actually appears in court rulings — even in cases that are clearly about gender-driven violence. Researchers argue this matters more than it might seem. When courts consistently name something, it gets counted, tracked, and understood. Right now, that is not happening. Judges and prosecutors do often pick up on relevant factors — a history of domestic abuse, a controlling relationship — but whether those details formally make it into the evidence or sentencing reasoning is another story. When they do, those factors can push a sentence higher. When they do not, an opportunity to reflect the full reality of the crime is lost.
Time for the System to Catch Up
On the question of penalties, there is broad agreement among judges and prosecutors that current maximum sentences for murder and manslaughter are adequate. But a number of them went a step further, saying they would welcome legislation that formally lists femicide characteristics as grounds for a tougher sentence. That would at least create a consistent framework where one currently does not exist.
The research team laid out a clear path forward. A proper legal definition of femicide needs to be established, along with shared guidelines for how courts should treat gender-related factors like domestic violence. Femicide cases should be identified as such from the start — not buried under generic criminal labels — so that records are accurate and the public can see the true scale of the issue. Bringing in specialist judges and expert support was also raised as a worthwhile step.
The study did not stop at femicide either. Researchers called for a closer look at other forms of fatal violence against women, including assault cases that result in death, which often fall outside current femicide discussions entirely. Getting a clearer picture of all gender-related fatal violence — and how courts respond to it — is the only way the system can genuinely improve.
