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Indicator
Physical Autonomy

Femicide or feminicide

This indicator corresponds to the annual quantification of the total number of homicides of women aged 15 and older, killed due to gender-based reasons. According to national legislation, it is referred to as femicide, feminicide, or homicide aggravated by gender-based motives. It is expressed in absolute numbers and rates per 100,000 women. The indicator is based on the annual request made by the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean to the National Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women, which obtain this information from judicial institutions, national police forces, or other competent national bodies. Depending on the country, data is available from 2005 to the most recent year, with historical report updates for previous years.

Analysis

Violence against women, and its most extreme expression—femicide, feminicide, or gender-based violent deaths of women (according to each country's terminology)—occurs systematically and persistently across the region. It affects women and girls of all ages and takes place in all settings, from the domestic sphere to public spaces. The indicator on femicide, feminicide, or gender-based aggravated homicide is reported by each country and has been published by the Gender Equality Observatory since 2009. In 2017, it was approved as a complementary regional indicator of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to monitor progress toward eliminating extreme violence against women and girls in the region and to assess state responses regarding the implementation of public policies for its prevention.

It is important to note that temporal and cross-country comparisons of femicide, feminicide, or gender-based aggravated homicide cases or rates may not always be possible, as their identification depends on each country's legal definitions, legislative changes, judicial clarifications, or methodological adjustments.