femicide

In the United States when women are murdered by intimate partners, former partners, husbands or ex-husbands, the press repeatedly distorts the issue and consistently fails to mention domestic violence as an issue leading up to the murder. I have written to People magazine for their awful representation of the story about the WWF wrestler (Chris Benoit) who murdered his family and then killed himself two years ago. They query, was it roid rage? Maybe he just snapped one day? US politics distort issues of violence in general but it especially fails to link culture to violence; the US press world prefers sensationalism to disappointing and unfortunate realities. The WWF dude in Florida killed his wife and kids because of the same reason why men all over the world kill their partners/ex-partners- the perilous end to a vicious cycle of domestic violence.

In Chile, when a man kills his girlfriend, wife or ex they call it femicide. When I first saw this, I thought "wow, doesn't that convey a different message?" According to Wikipedia, all-knowing, ever-correct Wiki ;) femicide is defined as the systematic killing of women for various reasons, usually cultural. Femicide is seen as a gender crime. The word is attested from the 1820s. What would happen in the USA if the murder of women by intimate partners/ex-partners was called femicide? Shit would hit the fan. The only thing we know about words that end in -cide is a word called "genocide" and that doesn't happen in our country, only in countries really, really far away...

Don't get me wrong, Chile also has its problems with domestic violence; a country with about 17 million people, has just recognized its 10th femicide of this relatively new year of 2009. The Chilean Government (Gobierno de Chile) has launched a campaign "Cuando las mujeres advanzan Chile se advanza" (When women advance, Chile advances). The campaign has plastered large banners around the city with this phrase and a picture of ladies confidently walking next to each other (kind of like a Sex and the City poster). But the point I am trying to make here is that is SPONSORED by the government directly!


Yes, you might say "but Caitlin, March is Women's Month." Let me tell you, these posters and signs are so ubiquitous that they will be sticking around until October... I'll have plenty of time to conduct a public opinion poll and report back. :)