More Than Half of the Women Killed in the Netherlands that at the hands of a (former) partner. Experts See Opportunities To Reduce This, AltheHeh They Wonder IF IT IS Possible to Bring the Number Down Much Further.
The Number of Murders in the Netherlands in General Has Fallen Sharply Since the Beginning of This Century. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) Released the latest figures on murder and manslaughter on thursday.
What is striking about the figures for women is that the perpetrator group is very specific: in 52 percent of cases of Murder or Manslaughter, the perpetrator was the (former) partner. That percentage may seem shocking at first glance, but experts are not surprised by it. The Number of Incidents has also leg fairly stable for about ten years.
Accordance to Professor of Safety and Interventions Marieke Liem from Leiden University, IT is Questionable Whether the Frequency of (former) partner Murder of Women (for which the term femicide is of used) can be reduced further. “However much you want it to never happen again, there may always be a residue of murder and manslauhter,” she tells nu.nl. Liem Investigates The Murder of Women via The Femicide Monitor.
“The Current percentage is Already Relatively Low, Especial Compared to Other Countries Worldwide,” Says Liem. And even country where the welfare state is just stronger than in the Netherlands, Such as Countries in Scandinavia, “are not immune to the murder of women.” There, the Numbers are relatively comparable to those of the Netherlands, Says Liem. Therefore, She Thinks That the Decrease Can Still Be Achieved is “Relatively Limited”.
Backlash Effect of Emancipation
Another Explanation for the Lack of a Further Decline in the Femicide Rate has to do with Women’s Emancipation. Liem Argues That More Emancipation Initial Led To Fewer Murders, But That A Tipping Point May Now Have Been Reached.
That backlash effect, as liem describes it, would have to do with the feeling that men are loosing status due to the increasing rate at which are women emancipating. “They then try to regain that status through violence.”
Althegh Liem is Therefore Not Sure Whether the Number of Murders of Women Can Be Reduced Further, She Does Not Think That “Absolves Us Of The Bond To Do Everything We Can.” If Nothing is done, that could also mean that the number increases again.
Eradication Requires Structural, Cultural Adjustments
Pauline Aarten, a femicide researcher at Fonds Victim Support, also believes that it is Difficult to Bring the femicide rate to zero. “Eradicating the Problem Requires Major Cultural Adjustments.” Accordance to Aarten, This Involves Adjustments in How We As A Society Think About Gender And Power Relations.
Willy van Berlo, from Knowledge Center for Sexuality Rutgers, also says this. She points to the role that Education Plays. “Children must learn from an early age what the equality between them and women mean and what respect means for the wishes and boundaries of another. If you do that, you also work on a cultural change.”
Despite the progress made in that area, there are forces that are working against it. For example, there is the manosphere, in which figures such as andrew tate play an important role. As a result, mainly young men are increasingly adopting misanthropic and traditional values.
“For Example, IT CONCERNS Young People who Approve or A Certain Degree of Violence, or Adhere to So-Called Rape Myths, Such as ‘She Asked For It’,” Says Van Berlo. “That must be signaled in time so that something can be done about it.”
You can read more about the important role that men play in tackling femicide in this article.
Recognizing Red Flags
At the same time, practical steps can still be tasks. For Example, Around Our Awareness of the Problem, Says Aarten. “Information plays an enormous role in this.”
For Example, Efforts can be made to better Learn to Recognize “Red Flags”: Risk Factors in Home Sitations. “It is important that both bystanders and professionals see signals from potential victims in time,” Says Aarten.
In the beginning, it’s about very small things, Says Aarten. And step by step, a woman can possibly end up in a “power relationship in which she is isolated and manipulated.”
In Addition, There is Still Ground to Be Gained in The Awareness of Victims Themselves. “Many Victims Do Not Recognize Themselves as Victims and Downplay Their Situation, even when there is Domestic Violence,” Explains Liem.
At the same time, an “huge catch-up” is Already Underway, Liem Sees. “Previously, a Woman Who Came to Report Abuse Might have Told:” Oh, Madam, You’ll Just Be Watching TV Together Again Tonight. ” Previously, Those Kinds of Situations were not tasks seriously, Says liem, and we are definitely seeing a shift in that. “That is a good thing.”
When is something femicide?
Femicide or Murder of Women is the Intentional Killing of Women (or Girls) Because She is a Woman, Reports The Public Prosecution Service. But that makes it a difficult definition, because how do you prove that? Some Experts and Authorities Call Every Murder of a Woman Femicide, Others only do so if an (former) partner is the perpetrator.
Accordance to Liem, IT CONCERNS AN Average or Forty Murders or Women per year. She should know, because she keeps those figures for the femicide monitor. The website also Emphasizes that not every murder of a woman has to be femicide. “There are also cases where the incident had nothing to do with gender.” But Until there is a good scientific way to make this distinction, The Monitor Keeps Track of All Murders of Women.