National study of analysis of cases of femicide

The femicide phenomenon has come to the attention of specialists in recent decades. This is a social phenomenon, as the rate of women killed by their intimate partners or in a family setting is higher than the rate of men killed in a non-intimate or family context. There are different approaches in the analysis of this phenomenon. The basic tenet of the sociological approach to femicide is that women and men are killed in different social circumstances and by different perpetrators. The feminist approach draws attention to patriarchal dominance in investigating the killing of women, and the human rights approach extends femicide beyond lethal to extreme forms of violence against women.

The purpose of the study is to know the particularities of femicide in the Republic of Moldova, for the years 2016-2019, in order to improve the institutional response mechanisms to cases of violence, based on gender and family violence.

In the study, the information from the administrative statistical data, collected from different institutions, was supplemented with that from the analysis of closed files and with primary data collected, through in-depth individual interviews with specialists from the justice system, criminal investigation, police, social assistance , education, but also from the close relatives of the victims of femicide. The research methods allowed the triangulation of data, the knowledge and understanding of risk factors, including opinions regarding the prevention and reduction of victims’ deaths as a result of family violence.

Women’s Law Center in partnership with the National Penitentiary Administration, 2021