Why femicide should also be punishable by law
‘Femicide has little legal significance in the Netherlands, even though it exposes serious violence within families,’ says criminal law PhD candidate Jeanette Satink. She advocates for making femicide a criminal offense.
Lisa, Humeyra, Ryan, Joeweela, and Bouchra. These are the names of women who were victims of femicide. In some cases, the perpetrators are brought to trial, but are they then tried for murder, manslaughter, or… femicide? And what are the chances that Dutch women will soon be able to ask the police, just like in the United Kingdom, whether their partners have previously been violent?
Univers asked Jeanette Satink, a lecturer in Criminal Law at the Department of Criminal Law and a deputy judge at the ‘s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal. Satink is conducting doctoral research on domestic violence against children and the role of criminal law from a children’s rights and human rights perspective. Her research regularly addresses not only child murders but also femicides.
How does femicide relate to your research on domestic violence against children?
‘Domestic violence in families is often directed against women and children. In the most serious cases, it even involves murder. When a woman is killed because of her gender, it’s called femicide. When a child is killed, it’s called filicide.
‘Research increasingly demonstrates how strongly violence against women and violence against children are intertwined. In femicide, it often happens that a child is also killed. And even when that doesn’t happen, children are often directly involved: they witness the violence or the murder of their mother, usually by a father, stepfather, or partner. Experiencing that is in itself a serious form of child abuse.’
Femicide is increasingly being mentioned in public debate. Should femicide also become a legal concept in the Netherlands, or is existing criminal law sufficient?
‘In the Netherlands, femicide still falls under the existing provisions for murder and manslaughter. The Hümeyra case sparked widespread social and political debate about the penalty for manslaughter. Hümeyra was shot dead at her school by her ex-boyfriend in 2018.
‘Initially, he was charged with manslaughter, meaning the maximum sentence at the time could not exceed 15 years, while sentences of up to 30 years or even life imprisonment were possible for murder. Only on appeal did the court of appeals rule that the offense was premeditated and the perpetrator was convicted of murder.
‘Despite the eventual conviction, public and political debate revealed that the penalty for manslaughter was perceived as too lenient. The Hümeyra case has often been cited as an illustration of this problem. In 2021, a bill was introduced to increase the maximum sentence for manslaughter to 25 years, after which the law was actually amended in 2023.
‘There is no separate criminal provision specifically targeting femicide. It has been discussed, but so far, it hasn’t been implemented. Personally, I find that a shame, because it would make the seriousness and specific nature of this problem more visible in criminal law.’
What is femicide?
Femicide is an extreme form of domestic violence in which a girl or woman is killed. Of all women murdered in the Netherlands, approximately 80 percent were killed by a (former) partner or family member. Women killed by their (former) partners are often young and mothers, meaning this form of violence also affects children, who, due to the loss of their mother and the potential imprisonment of their father, lose both parents and are forced to grow up elsewhere.
Femicide should be made punishable by law, you say.
‘I believe it’s important to have specific criminal offenses for child abuse, femicide, and infanticide. Explicitly including these offenses in the Dutch Criminal Code can have consequences for policy and practice. It can encourage the police, the Public Prosecution Service, and judges to pay more focused attention to these types of cases and also makes it clear to society that we consider these forms of violence particularly serious.
‘This concerns violence in the home, a place where people should feel safe. Judges and courts of appeal often emphasize in their rulings that this aspect increases the seriousness of such crimes. So, the criminal justice system does acknowledge the particular gravity of these types of offenses, but explicit criminalization could further strengthen that recognition.’
Clare’s Law gives UK citizens the right to know if their partner has been violent in the past. What are your views on introducing such a provision in the Netherlands?
‘It would be interesting to investigate whether a system like Clare’s Law would be legally and practically feasible in the Netherlands, and how it would fit into the existing legal system. However, immediate implementation is not an obvious option, partly due to the tension with the suspect’s privacy rights. This means that careful consideration and clear safeguards are necessary.
‘Should such a system be introduced, it is crucial that the police are properly equipped to handle it. For example, if someone wants to know if their partner has been violent in the past, this places a significant responsibility on the police.
‘Since 2018, officers have been required to conduct individual assessments (I.B. investigations) following reports of intimate partner violence. This obligation stems from the Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 3 of the Police Act, which stipulates that the police must provide assistance to those who need it.
‘Yet, practice shows that this is not always done properly. Independent research shows that the quality of individual assessments is often inadequate. Furthermore, the Grevio Committee, which monitors compliance with the Istanbul Convention, criticizes the fact that the Netherlands relies too heavily on Safe at Home and does not yet sufficiently utilize the police as the primary responsible party for the safety of victims.’
What is Clare’s Law?
Clare’s Law is named after Clare Wood, a British woman who was murdered by her partner in 2009. Police knew the man had a violent past, but Clare was unaware of this. The law gives citizens in the United Kingdom the right to ask the police if their (ex-)partner has previously committed domestic violence or abuse. In addition to this “right to ask,” the law also includes a “right to know,” which allows the police to share information if there is a threat.
Are there further gains to be made within the legal system to better protect women and children?
‘Research shows that lawyers, judges, and the Child Protection Council often pay insufficient attention to violence against women in divorce situations. A common misconception is: They’re divorced, so the difficult situation is over. But it’s precisely after the divorce that the violence can escalate.
‘Therefore, more inquiries should be made. You can compare this to a general practitioner asking about the cause of a child’s bruise. Similarly, in divorce cases, explicit inquiries should be made about violence and unsafe situations, so that this is on the radar of everyone involved: from child protection reporters to judges and social workers.’
