Femicide in Colombian law (Ley 1761 de 2015)
- Law
Since 2015, killing a woman because she is a woman or because of her gender identity has been a separate crime in Colombia, femicide, with higher penalties.
What it is
Ley 1761 de 2015, known as the Rosa Elvira Cely Law, created femicide as a separate offence in the Penal Code (art. 104A) with its aggravating circumstances (art. 104B). Before, killing a woman for being a woman was only an aggravating circumstance of homicide. The law also requires an investigation with due diligence: ex officio, immediate and specialised, looking into earlier violence even if it was never reported. The doctor's and the expert's role is central, because many of the offence's circumstances are proved by findings: earlier violence, sexual assault, pregnancy, injuries of control or suffering. The assessment of intimate-partner violence is on its own page.
Key articles
- Art. 104A (added by art. 2 of Ley 1761 de 2015): six circumstances, letters a) to f), any one of which, with the death of a woman, makes up the offence.
- Art. 104A, letter a): having or having had a family, intimate, cohabiting, friendship, peer or work relationship and being the author of an earlier cycle of violence.
- Art. 104A, letter e): history or signs of violence or threats by the perpetrator, even if never reported; the Constitutional Court upheld it with conditions (Ruling C-297 de 2016).
- Art. 104B (added by art. 3 of Ley 1761): aggravating circumstances; a public servant abusing the post, a victim under 18 or over 60 or pregnant, several perpetrators, disability or displacement, presence of the family, earlier sexual assault or mutilation.
- Ley 1761, art. 4: amends art. 119 of the Penal Code; injuries to children under 14 or to a woman because she is a woman carry double the penalty.
- Ley 1761, art. 7: due diligence includes searching for the victim or her remains if her whereabouts are unknown, investigating the continuum of violence and using every means to prove the cause of death.
- Ley 1761, art. 12: DANE, the Ministry of Justice and the Instituto de Medicina Legal adopt a national data system on gender-based violence.
What it covers
- The offence of femicide and its aggravating circumstances (Penal Code, arts. 104A and 104B).
- The rules for investigation and trial: due diligence, ex officio investigation, limits on benefits.
- Free legal assistance for victims from the Defensoría del Pueblo (art. 9).
- Prevention: gender-perspective education and training of public servants (arts. 10 and 11).
- Statistics on gender-based violence (art. 12).
Next step: what to do and document
- At the autopsy of a woman who died violently, document every injury, including old ones or ones at different stages: they can prove the cycle of violence.
- Look for and record signs of strangulation, sexual assault, restraint or mutilation, and take the sexual violence samples with chain of custody.
- Record whether the victim was pregnant and her age: these are aggravating circumstances in art. 104B.
- With a survivor of an attempt, assess the risk, activate the protection route and notify (see mandatory reporting); the facts are investigated ex officio.
- Describe facts, do not classify: the expert does not say "femicide" but provides the findings that let the Fiscalía and the judge do so.
Status and official text
- Ley 1761 de 2015, in force since promulgation (6 July 2015; Diario Oficial 49565). It repealed paragraph 11 of art. 104 of the Penal Code (the old aggravating circumstance).
- Ruling C-539 de 2016 upheld parts of art. 104A, letter a) of art. 104B and the reference "7" in letter g). Ruling C-297 de 2016: letter e) of art. 104A upheld with conditions.
- No later amendments to arts. 104A and 104B were found in the consolidated text of the Penal Code.
- Official text checked on 2026-11-13 at funcionpublica.gov.co (Gestor Normativo).
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What did Ley 1761 de 2015 change in the Penal Code?
It created femicide as a separate offence (art. 104A) with its aggravating circumstances (art. 104B) and repealed the old aggravating circumstance of homicide for being a woman (paragraph 11 of art. 104).
Why does it matter that the expert describes old injuries at a woman's autopsy?
Because they can prove the earlier cycle of violence or history of violence, which are circumstances of art. 104A, even if they were never reported.
Can a femicide case be closed because the victim withdrew a complaint?
No: under art. 8 of Ley 1761 the investigation is ex officio and withdrawing a complaint is not enough to close it.
Which facts about the victim aggravate the penalty under art. 104B?
Among others, being under 18 or over 60, being pregnant, having a disability or being displaced, or death following a sexual assault.
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Connections
Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority.
Sources: Ley 1761 de 2015, por la cual se crea el tipo penal de feminicidio como delito autónomo (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2015); Ley 599 de 2000, Código Penal (arts. 104A, 104B, 119, 165 y 166) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2000).
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