Murder, Gender and the Law: From Crime of Passion to Femicide

Gender-related killings are the most serious form of violence against women, yet male perpetrators are traditionally granted mitigating circumstances by global criminal justice systems. The customary use of the violent emotion defence in intimate partner contexts, largely responsible for this outcome, was formally delegitimised when Latin American states limited its application between 2007 and 2017 and institutionalised the ‘new’ concept of femicide. This article critically investigates the scope and depth of these legal reforms. The aim is to contribute to a scarcity of academic analysis by method of a qualitative case study on Argentina. Argentina’s Ley 26.791 is examined and compared to the Inter-American Model Law to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate the Violent Death of Women (Femicide-Feminicide) as a theoretical framework of reference. The study reveals that, despite appearing to have limited compatibility with the Model Law, the Argentinian Penal Code, complemented by other laws, stands out as a strong piece of femicide legislation and provides for more substance than mere symbolism.