The Media Coverage of Violent Deaths of Women and Its Influence on the Legal Classification of Murder and Femicide in the Ecuadorian Criminal Justice System

Abstract

This article analyzes, from a criminal-law dogmatic and international-law perspective, the legal construction of femicide in Ecuador and its distinction from murder. It begins with the historical development of the concept of femicide and the work of Diana E. H. Russell, and then examines the influence of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, known as the Belém do Pará Convention, on States’ duties regarding gender-based violence. In Ecuador, the study focuses on Article 141 of the Organic Comprehensive Criminal Code (COIP), in force since August 10, 2014, identifying its objective, subjective and normative elements, particularly the expressions “power relations,” “because she is a woman,” and “because of her gender condition.” The article compares femicide with Article 140 on murder and argues that the distinction is not merely the sex of the victim, but the specific structure of the criminal wrong required by the femicide provision. It also examines the Karina del Pozo case, which occurred before the COIP entered into force, and whose murder conviction became relevant in the political and legislative discussion that preceded the incorporation of femicide into Ecuadorian criminal law. Finally, Ecuadorian case law is examined to identify how judges should establish and reason the “because she is a woman” element and the existence of power relations. The article concludes that media pressure cannot replace the judicial demonstration of statutory elements: a gender-sensitive approach must strengthen, rather than weaken, legality, typicity, due process and judicial reasoning.