ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly presents some of the recent developments on legal responses to gender-based killings of women, with emphasis on those using the category femicide/feminicide in Latin American and European legislation. It reviews the political use of the concept of femicide/feminicide by feminist activism and their impact in diverse countries and regions, and in particular in Latin America, where many countries have acknowledged femicide/feminicide as a specific criminal offence. Analysing the characteristics and limitations of these laws, it outlines the normative panorama on the enactment and application of these crimes, as well as the use of this notion beyond Latin America and criminal law.
