Germany is moving to formally define and track femicide, a critical step in addressing the pervasive issue of gender-based violence, but the initiative has already drawn scrutiny over its potential impact and the apparent delay in implementation. Currently, femicide – the intentional killing of women because they are women – lacks a specific legal definition or statutory basis within German law.
Responding to growing pressure from women’s rights advocates and fueled by alarming statistics, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has convened a joint task force with state authorities to establish a standardized, nationwide definition for policing purposes. The stated goal is to improve the measurability of these crimes by developing concrete indicators, a move intended to move beyond simply categorizing all killings of girls and women as potential femicides, as the BKA did in its inaugural “Situation Report on Crimes Targeted Specifically at Women” released in 2023. This report initially classified nearly 1,000 cases as potential femicide, with 360 resulting in fatalities.
The World Health Organization identifies femicide as intentional killings of women rooted in patriarchal power structures, frequently perpetrated by intimate partners and often preceded by patterns of abuse, intimidation and sexual violence. Germany’s own police crime statistics consistently demonstrate a strong correlation between the murder of women and domestic violence incidents.
While the move towards a formal definition is being lauded as a necessary advancement, critics are questioning the timeline for its implementation. The BKA anticipates presenting the task force’s findings and a refined definition by mid-2026, a delay that some see as indicative of a broader reluctance within German institutions to grapple fully with the complexity of gender-based violence. The lengthy timeframe raises concerns that the current approach may be more about data collection than proactive preventative measures and legislative reform.
Furthermore, concerns are being voiced that merely defining femicide for police reporting will be insufficient without accompanying legislative changes to address underlying societal inequalities and provide robust support systems for victims of domestic violence. The effectiveness of the initiative will ultimately hinge on whether the new definition catalyzes a more comprehensive strategy to combat gender-based violence and dismantle the power structures that perpetuate it.
