Here is the third chapter of the conference organized by LIBREXPRESSION as part of the festival “Internazionale in Ferrara – 2018” (#intfe) dedicated to the fight against sexism and machismo. Always with the participation of the cartoonists: Marilena Nardi (IT), Anne Derenne (FR) and Zainab Fasiki (Morocco), the theme of this third part was violence against women and feminicide.

 psychological violence

If sexual harassment is very common against women, violence although less systematic is also quite common, everuwhere. About 35% of women worldwide have suffered physical or sexual violence from their partners or from non-partners. An average that covers significant differences between countries (the rate goes up to 70% in some countries like Marocco) or geographical areas: in Africa the rate is 45.6%, in Southeast Asia: 40.2%, in Eastern Mediterranean: 36.4%, in Americas: 36,1%, in Europe: 27.2% and in high-income countries 32.7%.

This violence isof many kinds: from intimate violence in couples, child marriage, rape during conflicts, migration or refugees’ camps, to feminicide. Some statistics – even if incomplete because all violences are not reported and not all countries transmit their statistics – are giving chills:

Genital mutilation: 200 million women,

– 50% of violence against women are made against girls under the age of 16,

–150 million women under the age of 18 suffered sexual violence,

– the first sexual experience of 30% of women results of abuse,

– Marriages of girls: 750 million

– Feminicide statistics are difficult to establish, however, statistics exist in Europe from Eurostat but cover only 20 members States. The latest dating of 2015 are: France: 142, Italy: 105, Germany 210, UK: 128, Spain: 71 …

– It is estimated that among all women victims of feminicide 50% have been killed by their partner, husband partner or by a family member, when only 6% of the murders against a man are the fact of their partner or wife.

To know more:
– United Nations: The world’s Women 2015 – report trends and statistics. Chapter 6 is dedicated to violence against women. The world’s women reports are published every 5 years; The 2015’s one is therefore the last one available;
https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/downloads/WorldsWomen2015_chapter6_t.pdf
– European Institute for gender Equality (EIGE): https://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/dgs
– Feminicidio – OMS : http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/77421/WHO_RHR_12.38_eng.pdf;jsessionid=48AF07A94F988FA6AE269F42D9E5A717?sequence=1
Feminicidio in Europa:
https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/layout/set/print/content/view/print/184329