On 25 November 2016 in Vienna, Austria, experts from around the world gathered for an ACUNS/OSCE UNODC symposium entitled “Combating Femicide”; Dr. Šimonović reiterated the importance of establishing a Femicide Watch in each country. Excerpts from this conference are featured in this publication; they include UNODC Deputy Executive Director Aldo Lale-Demoz, the Austrian Ambassador Clemens Koja. and Biljana Branković, member of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.
Given the persistence of all forms of violence against women including femicide, fragmented legislative response and the serious lack of comparable data on femicide at a global, regional, and national level, I have called for the establishment of a “Femicide watch” that would contribute to preven on of such violence. These national bodies – Femicide watches or Observatories on femicide should collect and publish numbers of femicides throughout the year on the 25 November – International Day on the Elimination of Violence against Women – disaggregated by age and sex of the perpetrators, as well as the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim or victims.
I have been impressed by the young scholars and activists of the Academic Council on the United Nations System in Vienna and Mr. Michael Platzer who have been outraged by the many heinous forms of the gender related killing of women and girls. Since 2012, they have organised high level discussions with Member States both in Vienna and New York on diverse issues and successfully promoted the adoption of two General Assembly resolutions on gender related killing of women. This is now the seventh volume of FEMICIDE. This publica on serves as a useful handbook of what is being done and said at the United Nations and other international bodies but also gathers information about research and actions taken by women’s organisations, academics and countries from around the world. It is a great example of civil society collabora on with UN mandate holders and effective cooperation with member states.
Dr. Dubravka Šimonović, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
