Ending Femicide in Africa: Women’s Empowerment as a Pillar of Safer and Inclusive Societies

By Dr. Salim Ahmed Vessah

Executive Summary: Femicide remains a critical human rights and security challenge in Africa, with approximately 2.5 per 100,000 women and girls killed by intimate partners or family members in 2022, the highest rate globally. Beyond its scale, the persistence of femicide reflects the interaction between structural inequalities and weak institutional protection. This policy brief argues that women’s empowerment reduces femicide risks only when combined with effective legal and institutional frameworks. Economic, social, and political empowerment can lower vulnerability, but its impact is conditional on enforcement capacity, access to justice, and protection services. Drawing on evidence from Rwanda, South Africa, and Kenya, the brief outlines integrated policy actions to strengthen this synergy and achieve sustained reductions in gender-based violence.

Key Messages

• Empowerment works conditionally: Women’s economic and social empowerment reduces femicide only when supported by strong legal enforcement and protection systems.
• Integration is critical: Isolated policies, be they economic, legal, or social are insufficient; coordinated, cross-sectoral interventions yield the greatest impact.
• Act in sequence: Prioritize immediate protection, followed by structural reforms, while enhancing data systems for accountability and targeting.

Introduction 

Gender-based violence, particularly  femicide, is a critical challenge to development across Africa. It reflects persistent structural inequalities between men and women, deeply embedded in social, economic, and cultural systems that perpetuate discrimination and limit women’s autonomy. Evidence indicates that that the majority of women who are killed are murdered by intimate partners or family members, underscoring the predominantly domestic and systemic nature of this violence. Addressing femicide requires comprehensive policies that tackle both immediate protection needs and underlying structural drivers. According UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Africa is the most affected continent, with approximately 2.5 victims per 100,000 women, compared to Europe’s less than 1 per 100,000 women. These figures conceal important regional disparities. Southern Africa records some of the highest femicide rates globally; for instance, South Africa’s rate was estimated at 12.2 per 100,000 women in 2022, around six times the global average, while countries such as Lesotho report over 40% of women have experienced intimate partner violence. In contrast, West and East Africa generally report lower but rising rates, particularly in urban areas. These variations suggest that femicide is closely linked to socio-economic contexts, social norms, and the effectiveness of institutions.

Violence against women has significant economic costs, particularly in lost productivity, healthcare expenditures, and legal expenses. In 2025, the World Bank Group reported that gender-based violence represented an economic burden estimated at between 1.2% and 3.7% of GDP on average in some developing countries. This hinders growth by underutilizing the female workforce and slowing the accumulation of human capital.  Factors  explaining these trends include women’s economic dependence, patriarchal norms, and inefficient judicial systems. Together, these create a cumulative effect that limits women’s ability to leave violent relationships, reinforces male dominance, and increases social tolerance of domestic violence. As a result, victim protection services remain inadequate, particularly in rural areas.

According to economic literature and International experience, women’s empowerment can play a crucial role in reducing violence. It improves access to education, employment, and financial resources, thus lowering women’s vulnerability to domestic violence. Empowerment encompasses economic independence, decision-making ability, understanding of rights, and access to protective institutions. However, it can only effectively reduce femicide risk when supported by effective legal systems, access to justice, and protection mechanisms. This raises the central policy question: which policy levers most effectively reduce femicide, particularly through the interaction between women’s empowerment and institutional capacity? Addressing femicide requires a focus on security, economic development, social inclusion, and governance. This policy brief aims to: (1) identify factors underlying femicide and how women’s empowerment helps curb it, (2) highlight policy gaps and institutional challenges, and (3) propose actionable recommendations.

Factors Contributing to Femicide in Africa

Femicide in Africa results from a combination of economic, social, and cultural factors that reinforce each other. However, these constraints are not equally binding. Empirical evidence from the World Bank, UN Women, and cross-country studies shows that economic dependence and weak institutional protection are the primary drivers, as they directly limit women’s ability to exit violent relationships and access justice.

Economic factors : in many African countries, women remain heavily dependent on their partners for financial support, which limits their ability to leave abusive relationships. Furthermore, the majority of women work in the informal sector, where incomes are unstable and social protection is minimal. This economic dependence exposes them to prolonged violence. Studies indicate that women with their own income are significantly less likely to experience domestic violence, as they have more alternatives for leaving their relationships. Nevertheless, women economic empowerment can also lead to intimate partner violence a male partners resist shifts in household power dynamic.

Social factors : educational attainment, access to information, and social networks influence women’s ability to seek help. Women with secondary or higher education are more likely to report violence and utilize available legal mechanisms. Conversely, social isolation, which is prevalent in rural areas, heightens vulnerability.

Cultural factors : in patriarchal societies, domestic violence is viewed as a private matter, which limits external intervention. Social norms that value male dominance and female submission help to normalize this violence. Moreover, women who leave their partners face stigma, forcing them to remain in dangerous relationships.

Institutional factors: even where laws exist, enforcement is often weak due to a lack of training for law enforcement officers, corruption, high legal costs, and a scarcity of shelters for victims. Consequently, femicide results from a system where economic, social, cultural, and institutional factors combine to increase women’s vulnerability. Moreover, several African countries with high femicide rates are also affected by armed conflict, displacement, and post-conflict instability, which further weaken institutions and exacerbate risks for women.

How does empowerment reduce women’s vulnerability?

Women’s empowerment is one of the most effective ways of reducing gender-based violence and femicide, as it addresses several dimensions simultaneously: economic, social, educational, and political. However, its impact is not uniform: while empowerment can reduce women’s vulnerability in the long term, it may initially increase the risk of violence in contexts where shifts in household power relations trigger male backlash.

• Economic dimension : When a woman has a stable income, she can leave an abusive relationship and provide for herself and her children. For example, in Rwanda, microfinance and entrepreneurship training programs have enabled many women to establish income-generating activities, reducing their economic dependence and exposure to domestic violence. Similarly, in Tanzania and Ethiopia, women’s cooperatives have improved financial independence and economic security for women. However, evidence also shows that increases in women’s incomecan, in some contexts, provoke short-term increases in intimate partner violence as traditional gender norms are challenged.
• Educational dimension: Education increases awareness of rights, boosts self-confidence, and enhances access to employment. In Kenya, girls’ education programs and awareness campaigns have gradually changed social attitudes toward domestic violence and encouraged the reporting of abuse.
• Political and legal dimensions: When women participate in decision-making and have access to justice, they are better protected. In South Africa, the establishment of specialized domestic violence courts and protection order mechanisms has improved victim protection and reduced repeat offenses in certain regions.

This demonstrates that women’s empowerment not only reduces poverty but also serves as an effective strategy for preventing violence, provided it is supported by appropriate legal and social protection mechanisms.

Policy Gaps and Institutional Challenges

Despite the progress made in several African countries, significant policy and institutional gaps persist in the fight against femicide.

The first gap concerns the fragmentation of public policies. In many countries, policies aimed at women’s economic empowerment are not linked to those combating gender-based violence. This fragmentation reflects institutional silos among ministries like Gender, Social Affairs, and Finance, which have limited coordination. As a result, economic programs lack referral systems to protection services, reducing their effectiveness for at-risk women. For instance, while microfinance programmes can provide women with access to income and strengthen their financial autonomy, their effectiveness in supporting victims of violence remains limited when implemented in isolation. Economic empowerment can help women leave abusive relationships by reducing financial dependence on perpetrators. However, without parallel access to legal protection, shelters, and psychosocial support, these programmes may fail to ensure their safety. In some cases, increased income can even trigger backlash from partners. Therefore, microfinance must be integrated with protection services to effectively support survivors of violence.

The second gap relates to law enforcement. Although several African countries have adopted laws against domestic violence, their enforcement remains limited. In South Africa, despite having an advanced legal framework, high rates of violence persist due to overburdened courts and a lack of training for law enforcement officers. In addition, delays in processing protection orders and weak monitoring of repeat offenders illustrate gaps in the justice chain, from reporting to enforcement.

The third gap involves victim support services. In many countries, the availability of shelters, psychosocial services, and helplines is inadequate. This is often due to fragmented service provision between government agencies and NGOs, with no unified referral system or sustainable public funding mechanisms. For instance, women who are victims of violence often find themselves with no psychological help, forcing them to remain in dangerous situations.

Finally, data collection on femicide is inadequate. This indicates weak coordination among police, health systems, and judicial institutions, leading to inconsistent definitions and underreporting, which hinders evidence-based policymaking and resource allocation. Without reliable data, understanding the scale of the problem, identifying high-risk areas, and assessing the effectiveness of public policies becomes challenging.

Policy Recommendations

Effective femicide prevention requires coordinated action across time horizons and institutions.

Short term (0-2 years): Immediate protection and response

• Expand shelters, national helplines, and emergency support services (Ministries of Social Affairs, local governments, NGOs).
• Introduce rapid protection orders and train police and magistrates (Ministries of Justice and Interior, courts).
• Launch national awareness campaigns and community engagement programs targeting men (Ministries of Communication, local authorities, civil society).

Medium term (2-5 years): Structural strengthening

• Establish specialized gender-based violence courts and improve case management systems (Judiciary, Ministry of Justice).
• Integrate women’s economic empowerment into social protection and expand access to finance and land (Ministries of Finance, Gender, Agriculture).
• Develop formal referral systems linking police, courts, and social services (central and local governments).

Long term (5+ years): Systemic transformation

• Institutionalize femicide observatories and harmonized data systems (National statistics offices, Ministries of Interior and Justice).
• Embed gender equality and prevention programs in education systems (Ministries of Education).

Conclusion

Femicide in Africa is a structural problem that requires a structural response. The economic, social, and political empowerment of women, combined with effective legal systems and a shift in social norms, can significantly reduce violence and save lives. The fight against femicide must become a priority for development strategies. Integrated, funded, and coordinated policies can help build safer, more inclusive, and more equitable African societies.