FEMICIDE AS A HISTORICAL FACT AND SOCIAL REALITY
FEMICIDE AS A HISTORICAL FACT AND SOCIAL REALITY

Summary/Abstract: Femicide, the act of killing a woman, was not the subject of special incrimination for a long time although it has been historically present since prehistoric times. The authors look at femicide through the prism of historical sources, with the aim of determining whether the legislators took into account the special criminal protection of women or not. In ancient and medieval times, women were largely viewed as things (objects/man’s ownership); thus, the act of killing of a woman was treated as destruction of another’s property. In some states, the murder of a woman was incriminated within the general criminal law provision on the criminal offense of murder. In the second half of the 20th century, international organizations embarked on enacting relevant legal documents and taking appropriate measures to improve the position of women in society. This idea was first embodied in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979). It was the cornerstone for raising awareness that the issue of femicide should be treated with special attention in order to enhance the protection of women’s lives. In that regard, there are international documents specifically dealing with the protection of woman’s life and bodily integrity, such as the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (2011). The authors will also present the normative framework of the Republic of Serbia on the protection of women, and analyze the measures taken by the state to prevent femicide, which is on the rise.

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