Femicide Femicide Femicide or feminicide is a sex-based hate crime term, broadly defined as "the intentional killing of females (women or girls) because they are females", though definitions vary depending on the cultural context. Feminist author Diana E. H. Russell was the first person to define and disseminate this term in 1976. She defines the word as "the killing of females by males because they are female." Other feminists place emphasis on the intention or purpose of the act being directed at females specifically because they are female; others include the killing of females by females. Often, the necessity of defining
Femicide is the appearance of physical abuse, which was found in 79% of all femicide cases in North Carolina. Gun availability in the United States has also had a substantial effect on femicide, correlating to 67.9% of deaths in a study by Karen D. Stout. Living in neighborhoods with increased poverty, ethnic heterogeneity and decreased collective efficacy (social cohesion among neighbors) are all found to be linked to increased femicide rates in that area. Across the nation femicide rates vary, with the highest rate in 1985 being found in Alabama and the lowest in Iowa. Geographically, the highest prevalence of femicide