On 23 September 2021, Fight for Humanity’s Co-Director, and Founder Ann-Kristin “Anki” Sjöberg presented on the topic of feminicide at The Geneva Press Club at an event called “The international recognition of feminicide as a crime similar to genocide.”
According to Sjöberg, the concept of feminicide, by putting “a name on something that’s happening in many parts of the world, but that is too often [marginalized]," can “helps us frame problems and our solutions, in order to move us forward.”
But femicide, understood as the intentional killing of women and girls because they are female, can be prevented. She stressed that “men who misbehave against women often do so because they have misunderstood what it means to be part of the community of men, what being a man is about, and because they a mimicking a negative behavior.” Thus, she emphasized, “the need to work, with men, to change that.”
Sjöberg focused her presentation on one element that frequently accompanies feminicide, which is sexual violence. She noted that sexual violence is “always prohibited […] against anyone, everywhere, at any time”, yet, it still remains incredibly prevalent. The concept of sexual violence as a practice was developed by the scholar Elisabeth Wood, who believes that the practice of sexual violence is not necessarily ordered but tolerated by commanders. “It means that if toleration ends, sexual violence may end.” Sexual violence as a strategy, however, is more challenging to confront, as the objective of such violence is employed “totally contrary to humanitarian law and human rights.”
Although preventing sexual violence and feminicide may be challenging, Sjöberg believes that it is crucial to continue to document and understand these violations, the trends, and the actors perpetrating it as well as pressure the international community to denounce situations of femicide globally, to demand solutions, and to propose applicable measures.
“Sexual violence and violence against women activists can never be tolerated. It can never be considered ‘a mistake’. It is a crime , and we need to do what we can to stop it”.
Read Fight for Humanity's presentation transcript here: https://bit.ly/3HSUg3Z
Watch the full event here: https://bit.ly/3MsjwSl