We analysed data from 17 years of available data (2001-2017), which included 3,236 cases of female homicides. Since 2014, where femicide began to be classified as such, 249 cases of femicide have been registered, increasing from 18% in 2014 to 57% in 2017. The annual homicide rate per 100,000 varied from 1·8/100,000 to 3·8/100,000 (Figure 1).
The majority of deaths occurred among young women between 20 and 30 years old, representing more than 28% of the total number of violent deaths amongst women. The mean age of women in the overall period was 33. The youngest victims were observed in the group of sexual related assaults (10 years median 95% CI, 6-16) and the oldest victims were killed by blunt objects (33 years median 95% CI, 28-44). The youngest victim reported was 1-year-old and the oldest 99 years.
Female homicides were most prevalent in urban areas (84% - N = 2,718) compared to rural areas. The region with the highest cumulative incidence rate 100,000 people was the amazon region (48·1/100,000), followed by the coast (43·2/100,000), the highlands (31·3/100,000) and the Galapagos islands, where no murders against women have been reported. Of the 24 provinces, the highest rate was Sucumbíos (6·5/100,000), Esmeraldas (4·6/100,000), Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas (4·3/100,000), Bolivar (3·8/100,000), and El Oro (3·6/100,000) (Figure 2).
Of the 223 cantons, the top five most violent in terms of the overall (2001-2017) homicide rate per 100,000 were Putumayo (12·5/100,000), San Lorenzo (11·1/100,000), Palestina (10.5/100,000), Las Lajas (9·9/100,000) and Lago Agrio (9·3/100,000) (Figure 3). In the overall 17 years of data, 32 cantons did not report any homicide or femicide.
Compared to the youngest group, women from 25 to 29 years old had the highest incidence risk at 7·0 (95% CI 5·6 – 8·8). Compared to males, females had a lower incidence risk of homicide at each age category, although this difference was less apparent amongst younger age groups.
Table 1 Incidence risk of female homicide in Ecuador by age category, 2001 – 2017
Age group
|
Population
|
Cases (n)
|
Rate per 100,000 population [CI]
|
Incidence risk compared to lowest age group [CI]
|
Incidence risk compared to male homicides at same age group [CI]
|
0-4
|
826,528
|
89
|
0·68 [0·48 – 0·88]
|
Ref.
|
0·79 [0·58 -1·09]
|
5 – 9
|
799,393
|
92
|
0·73 [0·47 – 1·00]
|
1·07 [0·79 – 1·43]
|
0·84 [0·61 -1·14]
|
10 – 14
|
759,419
|
106
|
0·90 [0·60 – 1·15]
|
1·30 [0·97 -1·71]
|
0·54 [0·41 -0·71]*
|
15-19
|
708,354
|
331
|
2·56 [2·08 – 3·03]
|
4·34 [3·43 – 5·48]*
|
0·14 [0·12 -1·16]*
|
20-24
|
656,390
|
450
|
4·14 [3·68 – 4·61]
|
6·36 [5·06 – 7·98]*
|
0·09 [0·08 -0·11]*
|
25-29
|
612,107
|
463
|
4·47 [3·86 – 5·08]
|
7·02 [5·59 – 8·80]*
|
0·09 [0·08 -0·11]*
|
30-34
|
562,150
|
342
|
3·50 [2·93 – 4·07]
|
5·65 [4·47 – 7·13]*
|
0·07 [0·06 -0·08]*
|
35-39
|
501,112
|
290
|
3·47 [2·91 – 4·02]
|
5·37 [4·23 – 6·81]*
|
0·09 [0·08 -0·12]*
|
40-44
|
442,537
|
260
|
3·48 [2·93 – 4·04]
|
5·45 [4·28 – 6·93]*
|
0·12 [0·08 -0·11]*
|
45-49
|
386,889
|
199
|
3·28 [2·60 -3·97]
|
4·78 [3·71 – 6·13]*
|
0·90 [0·08 -0·11]*
|
50-54
|
326,634
|
149
|
2·70 [2·10 – 3·29]
|
4·23 [3·25 – 5·50]*
|
0·11 [0·08 -0·12]*
|
55-59
|
266,079
|
93
|
1·92 [1·44 – 2·40]
|
3·24 [2·42 – 4·33]*
|
0·09 [0·07 -0·12]*
|
60-64
|
212,730
|
85
|
2·34 [1·69 – 2·98]
|
3·71 [2·75 – 4·99]*
|
0·13 [0·11 -0·17]*
|
>65
|
508,031
|
286
|
2·57 [2·09 – 3·05]
|
4·10 [3·01 – 5·58]*
|
0·16 [0·12 -0·21]*
|
Total
|
7,568,353
|
3,235
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
*p-value *** < 0·05; ** < 0·01; * <0·001
Compared to those who completed postgraduate education, the incidence risk of femicides was 17·2 (95% CI 14·6 – 20·3) for those that attended primary school. Being of Afro-Ecuadorian/ Afro- descent had a incidence risk of 18·1 (95% CI 10·5 – 30·9) compared to being of White ethnicity.
Table 2: Incidence risk of femicide in Ecuador with social, economic and demographic variables
|
Cases, n (%)
|
Incidence risk [CI 95%]
|
Civil status
|
|
|
United by law i
|
573 (18)
|
0·66 [0·60 – 0·73]
|
Single
|
1,419 (44·0)
|
Ref.
|
Married
|
850 (26·0)
|
0·62 [0·56 - 0·67]
|
Divorced
|
105 (3·0)
|
1·05 [0·86 - 1·28]
|
Separated
|
27 (1·0)
|
0·10 [0·07 - 0·15]
|
Widowed
|
263 (8·0)
|
1·08 [0·95 - 1·23]
|
|
|
|
Highest level of educational attainment
|
|
|
None
|
276 (8·5)
|
0·82 [0·67 - 0·99]
|
Primary school
|
1,102 (34·1)
|
17·2 [14·6 - 20·3]
|
Incomplete secondary school
|
866 (26·7)
|
0·25 [0·21 - 0·30]
|
Complete High school
|
105 (3·3)
|
0·08 [0·07 - 0·11]
|
Postgraduate
|
161 (5·0)
|
Ref.
|
No information
|
726 (22·4)
|
4·49 [3·78 - 5·33]
|
Ethnicity
|
|
|
Indigenous
|
75 (2·3)
|
4·64 [2·62 - 8·21]
|
Afro-Ecuadorian / Afro-descendant
|
290 (8·9)
|
18·1 [10·5- 30·9]
|
Montubia
|
9 (0·3)
|
0·58 [0·24 - 1·33]
|
Mixed
|
979 (30·3)
|
5·91 [3·49 - 10·0]
|
White
|
14 (0·4)
|
Ref.
|
Other
|
4 (0·1)
|
5·25 [1·72 - 15·96]
|
No information
|
1,865 (57·6)
|
N/A
|
Notes: i Ecuador being married entitles all the civil rights, whereas united by law is a legal status acquired after the couple have spent two years living together and on signing a free union form.
The most common cause of death were firearms (38%), followed by sharps objects (30%) and strangulation (14%) (Table 3). Compared to males, females had a 4·33 incidence risk (95% CI 1.63 – 11.4) of death due to sexual aggressions.
Table 3: Cause of death
|
|
Cases
(n)
|
Age
Mean
[95% CI]
|
Age
Median
[95% CI]
|
Incidence risk compared to males [CI 95%]
|
Chemicals
|
46 (1)
|
25 [19-32]
|
22 [19-32]
|
0·10[0·06-0·17]
|
Strangulation
|
444 (14)
|
36 [34-39]
|
28 [26-32]
|
0·42[0·37-0·46]
|
Drowning
|
16 (0)
|
38 [29-46]
|
26 [22-42]
|
0·06[0·03-0·10]
|
Sexual Aggressions
|
22 (1)
|
25 [9-40]
|
10 [6-16]
|
4·33[1·63-11·4]
|
Firearms
|
1,222 (38)
|
33 [32-34]
|
30 [29-32]
|
0·06[0·06-0·06]
|
Fire related
|
18 (1)
|
34 [19-49]
|
30 [17-45]
|
0·36[0·21-0·62]
|
Sharp Objects
|
960 (30)
|
36 [35-37]
|
32 [31-34]
|
0·15[0·14-0·16]
|
Blunt Object
|
83 (3)
|
39 [33-45]
|
33 [28-44]
|
0·17[0·13-0·21]
|
Others
|
425 (13)
|
37 [34-39]
|
31 [29-34]
|
0·27[0·24-0·29]
|
Total
|
3,263
|
33.6
|
26.8
|
N/A
|
In most cases of femicides in Ecuador, women were young. The vast majority of women killed were under 35 years of age (57·9%), so the economic burden due to lost lives is significant, reaching an average of 9,675 years of life lost prematurely per year, and more than 164,000 years in the last 17 years of available data. Femicide-related costs attributed to femicide reached, on average, $35 million per year and more than $500 million lost from 2001 to 2017 (Table 4).
Table 4: Years of life lost (YLL) due to female homicide in Ecuador, 2001 and 2017.
Year
|
Cases/year
|
YLL*
|
Economic Losses (US$) **
|
2017
|
177
|
9,025
|
50,143,307
|
2016
|
179
|
9,242
|
47,448,887
|
2015
|
162
|
8,076
|
39,547,989
|
2014
|
151
|
7,457
|
41,455,658
|
2013
|
159
|
7,751
|
40,789,337
|
2012
|
201
|
9,956
|
49,850,610
|
2011
|
226
|
11,222
|
53,612,987
|
2010
|
189
|
9,715
|
40,401,612
|
2009
|
194
|
10,262
|
36,924,730
|
2008
|
200
|
10,256
|
36,835,534
|
2007
|
231
|
11,611
|
32,948,806
|
2006
|
219
|
11,501
|
29,601,214
|
2005
|
189
|
10,045
|
25,545,668
|
2004
|
211
|
10,717
|
21,319,347
|
2003
|
170
|
8,416
|
16,741,380
|
2002
|
201
|
10,387
|
18,178,711
|
2001
|
177
|
8,840
|
13,903,903
|
Total
|
3,236
|
164,479
|
595,249,680
|
* Based on Life Expectancy according to GBD2010, ** Human Capital Method
|