Femicide: Causes

Femicide refers to the general and intentional killing of a woman (Taylor & Jasinski, 2011). Evolutionary psychology and sexual conflict theory provide a unique framework through which to understand femicide (Buss, 2017; Parker, 1979). Sexual conflict theory hypothesizes that evolved psychological mechanisms selected across evolutionary time produced—in specific contexts—behaviors favoring ancestral men’s reproductive success at the cost of ancestral women’s reproductive success (e.g., sexual jealousy and violent mate guarding; Buss, 1988; Buss, 2017; Parker, 1979; see Sexual Coercion: Sexual Conflict Theory). These psychological mechanisms may interact with environmental and social cues to produce violence against women, including femicide in extreme cases.