Definitions of non-intimate partner and family-related femicide/feminicide: A scoping review

The killing of women and girls outside of intimate or domestic relationships – or non-intimate partner and family-related (non-IPF) femicide/feminicide – often triggers significant public and media attention. However, there has been comparatively little attention to non-IPF femicide/feminicide in research and policy, including how it is defined. To address this, we conducted a scoping review to identify current definitions of non-IPF femicide/feminicide and the types of evidence that exist in relation to these killings. The search strategy included electronic database searches (MEDLINE Complete, Social Policy and Practice, APA PsychInfo, Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text; Sociology Source Ultimate; Web of Science), citation-tracking, and hand searching non-governmental organisation websites (e.g., EIGE, UNODC, Femicide Watch). Sources were eligible for inclusion if they reported on women or girls aged 10 or above killed by non-intimate or non-domestic relations. Restrictions were not placed on study context, design or publication language. In total, 126 studies (140 reports) met the inclusion criteria. After describing the types of evidence, we present key definitions and summarise characteristics of victims, perpetrators and incidents of non-IPF femicide/feminicide reported in existing literature. Our findings demonstrate that non-IPF femicide/feminicide encompasses a wide range of types (e.g., sexual femicides, work-related homicides) as well as relationships (e.g., strangers, acquaintances, clients, and employers). However, we also found that a large proportion of studies did not substantively engage with the gendered contexts and motivations of killings. Our findings highlight the need for improved reporting of definitions and deeper engagement with the structural contexts surrounding non-IPF femicides/feminicides.