Making Children Visible: Femicide and Child Protection Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Research on femicide is rapidly evolving, but still notably oriented towards direct victims and perpetrators. The impact on children, albeit multiple and profound, is neglected. Femicides predominantly occur within the home where children become witnesses to violence. The risk of becoming collateral victims is high. Typically, the child’s father or stepfather is the primary suspect and arrested. A considerable number of perpetrators of intimate-partner femicide commits suicide. Hence, surviving children are bereaved of not only one, but both parents, and become double orphans. Their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child become vulnerable to violation. Reflecting on this situation, this paper advocates for making children visible as secondary victims of femicide and accommodating them in state responses. An empirical study of Argentina illustrates how states are making attempts at designing child-centred laws in the key areas of economic assistance and custody. Intervention methods are critically assessed against the normative standards of international human rights law.