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These murders are mostly committed by men, lovers or ex-lovers and involve abuse, threats and sexual violence.
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According to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 706 women were victims of femicide in Kenya in 2021.
Image: COURTESY
If you log in to X, you are likely to find a trend on #Stopkillingwomen, or #Femicide or #RitaWaeni.
The topic of female murders has been consistently trending for the better part of January so far.
In the last couple of weeks, at least three women have been murdered, with the most prominent being Rita Waeni, a 20-year-old Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture Technology student.
Waeni's dismembered body was found at a short-term rental apartment in Roysambu. Her head was and is still missing.
The suspect is still on the run.
With the issue trending, it is significant to understand femicide to address it with the weight it deserves.
What is Femicide
On September 29, 2012, the World Health Organisation published a report on the topic. In it, Femicide was defined as the intentional murder of women.
Oxford Learner's Dictionary defines it as the crime of killing a woman or girl because she is female.
These murders are mostly committed by men, lovers or ex-lovers and involve abuse, threats and sexual violence.
According to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 706 women were victims of femicide in Kenya in 2021.
UN Women emphasises the need that it is a universal problem.
It cites a report in 2022, in which Africa recorded the largest absolute number of female intimate partner and family-related killings with an estimated 20,000 victims; followed by 18,400 in Asia; 7,900 in the Americas; 2,300 in Europe; and 200 in Oceania.
There are two types of femicide including intimate and non-intimate.
The former, which is also known as intimate partner femicide, is committed by a current or ex-lover.
WHO says pregnant women might be at an increased risk of intimate femicide.
It is important to note that this type of femicide does not only affect the woman but also those around her.
It may be her children, parents, siblings, unrelated bystanders and even people perceived as the victim's allies by the perpetrator, such as lawyers, relatives, neighbours or friends; and the victim's new partner.
Take, for example, the murder of the 20-year-old JKUAT student, it has not only affected her family, but unrelated 'bystanders'.
This has given birth to the X trend on stopping femicide, which has also exposed violent "manosphere" perpetuating misogyny online.
A "manosphere" is a network of online platforms where men express opinions about issues concerning contemporary masculinity and male relationships with women, especially those associated with views that are hostile to feminism and women's rights.
Men have turned to blaming women, with one X user writing, "But Kenyan girls will always die bcoz of love for the money" and opining that women have not been putting their safety first.
A woman however took to the platform saying, "Lol, asking us to put our safety first like that’s not a thing we constantly do as women, is so crazy…it’s what we are constantly taught by our mothers…just tell your fellow men to stop killing women!!!"
Non-intimate femicide is usually committed by someone whom the woman did not have an intimate relationship with.
These can be random. There is also sexual femicide which involves sexual aggression.
In some settings, non-intimate femicide disproportionately affects women in marginalised and stigmatised professions, such as sex work and work in bars and nightclubs.
There is also the 'honour' femicide, where a girl or woman is killed by a family member (male or female), for sexual behaviour.
This behaviour may be real or assumed, including sexual intercourse, rape, adultery or pregnancy outside wedlock.
The murderers use this type of killing as a way of protecting the family's reputation.
WHO says murders in the name of ‘honour’ may also be used to cover up cases of incest.
"There are an estimated 5000 murders in the name of 'honour' each year worldwide, although this is believed to be an underestimate," the Organisation adds.
They happen mostly in parts of the Middle East and South Asia, among some migrant communities in Australia, Europe and North America.
Some of these killings are committed by use of edged tools, firearms, strangulation and stabbing, burning, forced poisoning and throwing these women out of windows.
There is also dowry-related femicide which comprises killing women simply because there was a dowry-related conflict.
Addressing femicide: Approaches to ending women killing
This will require addressing what will not work first: Telling girls and women how to behave to avoid being killed.
A woman by the name *Jasmine Opiyo says women don't intentionally put themselves in harm's way.
"At the end of the day, if a man is set on killing you, your actions will do little to change his mind," she says.
Here is what will work:
Changing the social norms will go a long way in reducing and eventually ending Gender-Based Violence including femicide.
Research on prevention and intervention methods
To end femicide, it is important to start with prevention.
Research can be done on intimate partner violence, with a focus on perpetrators and potential perpetrators – for example, in relation to risk and protective factors.
WHO recommends that studies be done to investigate cases of near-fatal intimate partner violence.
"Not only to understand the needs of survivors and characteristics of perpetrators but also to shed light on the factors that may prevent femicide," it says.
Awareness-raising, Advocacy and Sensitisation
This includes taking steps to improve the society's understanding of the social context of femicide. This includes gender inequality.
Creating awareness can also be done by collecting and analysing available data, and court proceedings and referencing international human rights instruments relevant to protecting women's rights.
The methods could also be used to encourage cooperation among those involved in such cases including police and the entire criminal justice system.
It includes training them to identify and document cases of femicide, including the reporting of victim–perpetrator relationships.