Colloquium to launch the historic #StopFeminicide law
The law defines the concept of feminicide, allows for the collection of statistical data, establishes a scientific committee to analyse feminicide and gender-based killings, and provides for the use of new tools for risk assessment and management. The law also improves the rights and protection of victims and provides in-depth training for the police and judiciary.
This law is unique in Europe and came about thanks to the hard work of Belgian women's movements on violence against women. It is a historic step forward in the fight against gender-based violence in Belgium.
With the #StopFeminicide colloquium, the federal government is launching the #StopFeminicide law. The Institute for the equality of women and men is responsible for translating the law into three royal decrees. These decrees provide, among other things, for the collection of statistics, the publication of qualitative studies, annual reports, the creation of a scientific committee and global guidelines on which professional should use which tool for which crime, at what time and in cooperation with whom. Training for judges and investigators will also be provided.
Guidelines, more harmonisation, additional tools and training for professionals
This #stopFeminicide law is intended to be a support for every professional in the field to prevent gender-based violence and feminicide in the best possible way. It aims to promote cooperation between the various competent actors and streamline their work. All this with a view to maximising the protection of potential victims.
A scientific committee will be set up with stakeholders from the field of justice and the police to make policy recommendations based on analyses of feminicides that have taken place. In this way, policy will be influenced from the field.
A framework for risk assessment and risk management will also be developed. New tools will be developed, including the 'coercive control tool', which is already being used successfully in France and Quebec. The aim is for each counsellor to know which tool to use at what time, in collaboration with other partners involved. Over time, there will also be work on harmonisation, a coordinated approach and more digital tools, led by an umbrella committee. Feedback from the field was that people could no longer see the wood for the trees.
Keeping statistics and conducting qualitative surveys should provide insight into the extent of the problem and its characteristics, in order to draw the necessary lessons to strengthen the prevention of feminicide. Before this law, there was no definition and therefore no proper identification; this law allows us for the first time to deal with it in an informed way.
Maximum protection for victims, maximum prevention of the ultimate act
Victims of gender-based violence must feel safe to go to the emergency services. The Stop Feminicide Act places great emphasis on the rights of victims. Secondary victimisation will be avoided at all times, including by specialised police officers who have received training on gender-based violence and feminicide. The victim also has the right to be interviewed by a police officer of the gender of her choice. In addition, intersectionality will be taken into account, for example by providing special protection measures for victims. The law also provides for a translation of the report into a language that the victim understands sufficiently.
The mobile stalking alert is also an important protective measure in the fight against feminicide. The alert is a protective measure for victims of harassment by an ex-partner that could endanger their lives. In 2023, the Secretary of State for Gender Equality, in cooperation with the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs and relevant stakeholders (in particular the police and the judiciary), extended the mobile stalking alert to all judicial districts.
Each victim is one too many
Marie-Colline Leroy, Secretary of State for Gender Equality: "The last few weeks have once again seen the victims of feminicide. Each victim is one too many. Feminicide and gendercide are the most extreme forms of gender-based violence. This new legal framework strengthens our ability to identify risks of gender-based violence and feminicide, to better monitor and respond to feminicide, and to better protect victims of violence. This law demonstrates the government's determination to make the fight against gender-based violence a top priority. It puts our country at the forefront of preventing and combating feminicide. I also thank civil society and my predecessor for their work on this issue.”
On 26 November 2021, Belgium adopted the National Action Plan to Combat Gender-based Violence (NAP) 2021-2025, with a specific focus on the fight against feminicide as the most extreme form of violence against women. As part of this, the #StopFeminicide law and a set of tools for professionals have been developed. With the #StopFeminicide law, Belgium fulfils its international obligations. It transposes the Istanbul Convention and Directive 2012/29/EU and implements the recommendations of the Committee of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention and those of GREVIO.
The law is the result of close cooperation between Secretary of State for Gender Equality Marie-Colline Leroy and her predecessor Sarah Schlitz, the current Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt and his predecessor Vincent Van Quickenborne, and the Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden, and was written in consultation with people working in the field.
