Legislation on violence against women: overview of key components

This study aimed to determine if legislation on violence against women (VAW) worldwide contains key components recommended by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations (UN) to help strengthen VAW prevention and provide better integrated victim protection, support, and care. A systematic search for VAW legislation using international legal databases and other electronic sources plus data from previous research identified 124 countries/territories with some type of VAW legislation. Full legal texts were found for legislation from 104 countries/territories. Those available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish were downloaded and compiled and the selection criteria applied (use of any of the common terms related to VAW, including intimate partner violence (IPV), and reference to at least two of six sectors (education, health, judicial system, mass media, police, and social services) with regard to VAW interventions (protection, support, and care). A final sample from 80 countries/territories was selected and analyzed for the presence of key components recommended by PAHO and the UN (reference to the term "violence against women" in the title; definitions of different types of VAW; identification of women as beneficiaries; and promotion of (reference to) the participation of multiple sectors in VAW interventions). Few countries/territories specifically identified women as the beneficiaries of their VAW legislation, including those that labeled their legislation "domestic violence" law ( n = 51), of which only two explicitly mentioned women as complainants/survivors. Only 28 countries/territories defined the main forms of VAW (economic, physical, psychological, and sexual) in their VAW legislation. Most highlighted the role of the judicial system, followed by that of social services and the police. Only 28 mentioned the health sector. Despite considerable efforts worldwide to strengthen VAW legislation, most VAW laws do not incorporate the key recommended components. Significant limitations were found in the legislative content, its application, and the extent to which it provided women with integrated protection, support, and care. In developing new VAW legislation, policymakers should consider the vital role of health services.

Femicidio y feminicidio: un análisis de las aportaciones en clave iberoamericana

La violencia contra las mujeres es una lacra de nuestra sociedad que no se consigue erradicar. En su versión extrema e irreversible terminar con la muerte de la víctima. Desde mediados de la década de los años 70, del siglo pasado y de la mano de Diane Russell se visibilizaron los femicidios como el asesinato de una mujer por el hecho de ser mujer. Posteriormente, en los años 90, Marcela Lagarde crea el neologismo feminicidio al traducir la obra de Rusell al español. Desde entonces ambos términos han creado un espacio de conocimiento, de investigación y de acción política. El propósito de este trabajo es averiguar cómo se ha abordado el femicidio / feminicidio en las ciencias sociales en el contexto iberoamericano. Para ello se ha optado por una revisión de la literatura especializada en español y en portugués, analizando el tratamiento que reciben así como el alcance de los términos.