Diana E. H. Russell - Redefining and Politicizing "Femicide"

Redefining and Politicizing "Femicide"

In 1976 Russell redefined ‘Femicide’, as "the killing of females by males because they are female." At the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women, she testified to numerous examples of lethal forms of male violence against women and girls from different cultures around the world. Russell’s intention was to politicize the term, and bring attention to the misogyny driving these lethal crimes against women, which she said gender-neutral terms like murder don’t do. Russell who is puzzled about the lack of response of women’s groups in the United States to the use of the term ‘Femicide’ still continues to advocate the use of ‘Femicide’ to women’s groups in the United States and around the world. She explains that in order to deal with these extreme crimes against women, it necessary to recognize that like race based hate crimes, "Femicides are lethal hate crimes," and that most killings of women by men are "extreme manifestations of male dominance and sexism."

However, feminist movements in many countries in South America, as in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile, and El Salvador among others, have adopted the use of Russell’s politicized ‘Femicide’ and have successfully used it socially, politically and legally to address lethal violence against women in their respective countries.

In 1992 Russell co-edited an anthology titled Femicide: The Politics of Woman Killing.