Translated and reviewed by Matheus Lucas Hebling
The article Um estudo comparativo do feminicídio entre Argentina e Uruguai [A Comparative Study of Feminicide in Argentina and Uruguay], by Vinícius Ferreira Baptista (Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRRJ), examines how the concept of feminicide was transposed into legislation and into government plans for combating violence in the two countries. The study seeks to understand how the notion of feminicide, originally formulated in academic debates and social movements, was incorporated into criminal statutes and public policy.
The work addresses the translation of the concept of feminicide into legal norms and into general plans for combating crime in Argentina and Uruguay. The research aims to identify how the term is used in legal documents, in security policy, and in government programs. The analysis takes in both conceptual and political-institutional dimensions as well as action plans, pointing to similarities and differences between the two countries in how they approach feminicide.
The research was developed on the basis of documentary and bibliographic analysis. In a first stage, the author examined the specialized literature on feminicide, highlighting the conceptual and legal disputes present in the Argentine and Uruguayan contexts.
Next, the study analyzed the regulatory frameworks and public policies related to the subject, with attention to the criminal offenses established in each country and to the national plans directed at combating gender-based violence.
The approach sought to identify both the legal and institutional definitions and the practical effects of the policies implemented, allowing for a systematic comparison between the two cases under study.
The study found that in both Argentina and Uruguay, the incorporation of the concept of feminicide into legal norms and public policy is marked by ambiguities. On the conceptual dimension, the definition of the term was found to drift away from its structural and relational meaning, which renders invisible a portion of the violent deaths of women and reduces the accountability of the state.
From a political-institutional standpoint, the study underscored the influence of patriarchy and of forms of social control, including access to firearms and armed surveillance, as well as the importance of non-legal mechanisms of denunciation such as literature and journalism. In the domain of public policy, it analyzed firearms regulation measures, actions within the criminal justice system, and symbolic initiatives to combat gender-based violence.
The research concludes that, despite advances and the existence of plans to combat feminicide in Argentina and Uruguay, inconsistencies persist between conceptual formulation and the practical application of policy.
The study shows that the strong normative emphasis limits sociopolitical understanding of the problem, creating difficulties for the recognition of situations such as suicide-feminicide and institutional violence. In comparing the two countries, the work contributes to an understanding of the different ways feminicide has been incorporated into state policy and highlights the challenges of constructing more effective responses to the phenomenon, particularly with regard to state accountability and to moving beyond approaches confined to the legal field.
In summary
- The article analyzes the translation of the concept of feminicide into legal norms and action plans in Argentina and Uruguay.
- It identifies conceptual disputes that pull the term away from its structural dimension, rendering invisible a portion of violent deaths.
- It highlights the influence of patriarchy, armed control, and non-legal mechanisms of denunciation in shaping the debate.
- It examines firearms regulation measures, criminal justice system actions, and symbolic policies, pointing to incongruities in their application.
- It concludes that normative advances have not eliminated the ambiguities and that challenges to effective public policy in this area persist.
About the author
Vinícius Ferreira Baptista is a professor in the Graduate Program in Territorial Development and Public Policy (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento Territorial e Políticas Públicas, PPGDT) at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, UFRRJ). The author of scholarly work on feminicide, gender-based violence, and public policy, he has devoted himself to studying the institutionalization of the concept of feminicide in different Latin American contexts, with a focus on the cases of Argentina and Uruguay.
Publication details
Title: Um estudo comparativo do feminicídio entre Argentina e Uruguai
Author: Vinícius Ferreira Baptista
Year of publication: 2025
Available in: Revista Brasileira de Ciência Política, vol. 44
Keywords: feminicide, femicide, gender-based violence, Argentina, Uruguay, public policy, criminal law, state accountability, patriarchy, firearms regulation, comparative policy analysis, violence against women, Latin American politics, institutional violence, criminal justice system
