Filenews 17 September 2021 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
Femicide becomes a criminal offence, which is punishable by the maximum penalty, that of life imprisonment. This provides for a law proposal by the Speaker of the House Anita Demetriou, which was tabled for discussion and vote.
According to the bill, because women victims of homicide constitute the vast majority of victims of homicide committed in the context of domestic violence, sexual violence, crimes committed invoking so-called "honour" or committed as a result of religious beliefs and related practices, and because femicide as an act remains unpunished in most cases and/or as an act is systematically degraded, which consolidates the notion that violence against women is an acceptable and/or inevitable phenomenon. It adds that gender equality is a basic principle of human rights which democracy must implement, and at the same time it is a necessary condition for the prevalence of other human rights.
The purpose of the bill, according to the Speaker of the Parliament, is to amend the Penal Code to establish the offence of femicide, which is proposed to be punishable by the sentence of life imprisonment. According to the provisions of the bill, anyone who intentionally causes the death of a woman, in such a way that under the circumstances of the commission of the offence it appears that the motive is motivated by the characteristics of the sex, is guilty of the femicide felony and is subject to a life sentence.
For the purposes of this Article, the finding of motivation shall be based on the circumstances in which the offence was committed against a woman:
(a) ending in a relationship of dependence, trust or influence which makes it vulnerable;
(b) a victim of sexual exploitation, in the context of trafficking in persons;
(c) as a result of violence against the intercourse to be reached without its consent;
(d) for reasons of honour, religious beliefs or the practice of genital mutilation or as a result thereof.
