Chapter by Silvana Fumega: “Feminicide data activism sits at the intersection of gender, power, and resistance. Far from a neutral or technical endeavor, the act of documenting feminicide confronts deeply entrenched norms about whose lives matter, who counts as a victim, and what constitutes security. In contexts where official data is absent, or distorted, feminist communities have mobilized to resist erasure and demand accountability.
Since its inception, Data Against Feminicide (DcF) has not collected feminicide data itself but has instead focused on supporting those who do, by fostering a community of practice, developing tools and training programs, and hosting annual events to strengthen their efforts.
The importance of these efforts becomes even clearer when placed in the context of Latin America, where legal recognition of feminicide has not always translated into justice. The enactment of feminicide legislation in many countries has marked a crucial step in naming and confronting gender-based violence as systemic. Yet, these frameworks sometimes rely on narrow definitions, suffer from weak implementation, or remain siloed within criminal justice systems. As a result, the production of official data remains fragmented and politically constrained; shaped as much by normative assumptions as by legal categories. The existence of a legislation or typification does not guarantee justice, particularly when institutional actors lack the resources or will to apply it meaningfully. This gap perpetuates a dangerous disconnect between recognition and accountability.
In this context, this chapter explores how DcF operates as a community of practice that challenges dominant knowledge systems, confronts harmful media narratives, and proposes alternative, care-based approaches to security through feminist data infrastructures…(More)”.
