New femicide framework law: what specifically will change?
With the death of a young Spanish nurse in Brussels last week, the call for an adequate approach against gender-based violence is once again brought to the forefront. Already in 2019, a bill to criminalize femicide, or lethal violence against women, was before us in Belgian criminal law. Read also here.
This proposal was not passed. Meanwhile, on October 28, 2022, the Council of Ministers approved the bill for a new framework law on lethal violence on women, or framework law #StopFeminicide. The main innovation? A definition of femicide. Note that this definition does not create a separate criminalization in the Criminal Code. It will remain unchanged in 2022, despite the 2019 proposal.
What other innovations does this framework law bring?
The definition of feminicide should make it possible to set up a clear registration system. Until today it is not known how many women in Belgium are actually victims of gender-based violence. Accurate measurements should change this. That way risk assessment can be done. Scientific research shows that women who experience partner violence during a relationship run a greater risk of becoming the victim of feminicide.
Efforts are also being made to improve the rights and protection of victims. In addition, appropriate training is provided for both police departments and magistrates.
Feminicide; what is the current situation?
However, the lack of a specific criminalization for femicide does not mean that a perpetrator today goes unpunished. In fact, the current criminal code already provides for the punishment of what can be defined as "femicide. The criminal code provides for several crimes against physical integrity, including manslaughter and murder. In both, a penalty enhancement can be imposed in case there is a discriminatory motive. Therefore, the gender of the victim, as the reason why the crime is committed, is explicitly provided as an aggravating circumstance in Article 405quater of the Criminal Code.
What is important here is that the motive must not have been the sole reason for committing the crime. Incidentally, the presence of the specific motive can be inferred from the precise circumstances of the crime, as well as the past of the suspected perpetrator. Previous information about partner-related violence may thus, for example, provide a later qualification of the aggravating circumstance.
The framework law is not (yet) in force. It is a draft, so the federal parliament still has to adopt the text before it can actually come into force.
Do you have questions about hate crimes against women and bringing them to justice? If so, please contact our specialists at info@bannister.be or 03/369.28.00
