Gender and socio-cultural perspectives through femicide case studies

Femicide has been defined as the murder of a woman because she is a woman and has devastating consequences for the individual well-being, safety and health of those affected and for the whole society. Socio-cultural and legal issues are highlighted as important factors associated with intimate partner violence and femicide. The purpose of this article is to identify socio-cultural and/ or gender equality issues related to femicide through case studies. It is partly a product of the working group on culture of the COST Action IS1206- Femicide across Europe. Data was collected in a qualitative form from the countries which were involved in the Cost Action working group meetings. The main questions of this article relate to the European countries’ socio-cultural issues and the gender equality status of the involved countries related to femicide. Based on the data provided by each country involved, it emerged that patriarchy is still dominant in some European societies. Regulations and laws on gender equality exist in many countries, but it seems that in several cases are not effectively applied. Thus, it is necessary to create the appropriate socio-cultural and gender sensitive environments, supported by effective juridical systems