“How to do things with words”

:a feminicide language shared in cases of murders of women in the state of Paraná

Abstract

The present article stems from the hypothesis that there exists a feminicide language – as a communication regime – in cases of domestic or intimate femicide, shared both by what is spoken and what is done, inscribed in the pedagogy of cruelty. In addition to the theoretical foundation that underpins our discussion, we present our research findings from a quantitative-qualitative method, indicating the presence of qualifiers related to the means and mode behind attempted feminicides and feminicides identified in an initial sample of 300 cases, compiled from legal complaints filed in the criminal justice system of the State of Paraná. In these cases, in which we find a high prevalence of occurrences in the domestic environment where the male perpetrator either has a past or current relationship with the victim or belongs to the family circle, we detect a shared use of extreme violence by men; this prompted us to analyze cases with indicators of mental illness or suicide by the perpetrator, attempted or completed, in order to investigate the motivations involving the facts. Thus, saying and doing allows us to recognize traces of a feminicide language based on shared elements between words and action, with expressions and motivations that reveal a fratriarchic communication regime between unknown individuals.