"The devil is in the detail": geographical inequalities of femicides in Ecuador

The Impact of Turkey's Withdrawal From the Istanbul Convention on Suspicious Female Deaths and Femicides

In recent years, suspicious deaths, often portrayed as "falls from a height," have been increasingly associated with femicides in Turkey. This phenomenon coincided with the official withdrawal process from the "Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence" (Istanbul Convention). Our study aims to reveal the impact of Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on femicides and the yet officially unrecognized "suspicious female deaths." This research, conducted in a descriptive, cross-sectional epidemiological style, draws its population from records of suspicious female deaths and femicides that occurred in Turkey between January 1, 2020, and June 1, 2023. There has been a notable increase in the rate of suspicious female deaths. Additionally, a significant rise has been observed in the proportion of women who were employed, had children, and sought legal protection in these deaths. The study suggests a return to the Istanbul Convention.

Female homicides and femicides in Ecuador: a nationwide ecological analysis from 2001 to 2017

Background

Gender–based violence is a major public health concern arising from the structural discrimination of women and girls. In 2014, Ecuador criminalized acts of femicide in response to a growing crisis across the region. As no epidemiological studies on the state of female homicides and femicides have been published, we estimated patterns of female homicides and femicides nationally and the burden through economic cost per years of life lost, between 2001 and 2017.

Methods

Using aggregated data from the National Institute of Census and Statistics and police records we estimated the annual mortality rates, cumulative incidence and prevalence odds ratios for female homicides and femicides, from 2001 to 2017. The impact of aggressions, assaults and violence on years of life lost due to premature mortality was estimated using the Human Capital method.

Results

Over the period, at least 3236 cases of female homicides and femicides were reported. The highest murder rate occurred in the province of Sucumbíos (6.5 per 100,000) and in the Putumayo canton (12.5 per 100,000). The most common way to murder their victims was using firearms (38%). The highest odds ratio was estimated for women aged between 25 and 29, at 4.5 (3.9–5.1), of primary school attainment at 17.2 (14.6–20.3) and of Afro-Ecuadoran descent 18.1 (10.5–30.9). Female homicide-related costs reached, on average, $35 million per year and more than $500 million lost from 2001 to 2017.

Conclusions

The high rates, distribution and cost indicate that investments are urgently needed to address the structural causes and reduce the impact of female homicides and femicides in Ecuador; thereby protecting the livelihood and well-being of their women and girls.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12905-022-01839-2.