OSCE side event at Warsaw Human Dimension Conference highlights urgent need to prevent femicide

Preventing femicide - the gender-related killing of women and girls - was the central focus of a side event hosted by the OSCE Secretariat’s Gender Issues Programme under the WIN Project, and co-sponsored by the OSCE Delegations of Malta, Belgium and Croatia, during the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference on 14 October.

Under the title ''End it Now! Addressing Prevention of Femicide in the OSCE Region and Beyond”, the event highlighted growing concerns about the alarming rise in femicides. In 2023 alone, an estimated 85,000 women were intentionally killed worldwide, with over 51,000 of them murdered by an intimate partner or family member.

Opening the event, Dr Lara Scarpitta, OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues and Head of the Gender Issues Programme, stressed the urgent need to address this issue through targeted legislation and robust prevention mechanisms. “Across the OSCE we have witnessed some important efforts to end femicide through its criminalization, the establishment of Femicide Watches, and the development of specialized perpetrator programs and law enforcement training. But we must be clear: these efforts remain insufficient. Too many women continue to fall victim to violence, and too many perpetrators remain unpunished,” she noted.

The event featured a key note address by former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women Dubravka Šimonović and contributions from experts from Croatia, Malta and Belgium, who reflected on the key best practises and lessons learned from the criminalization of femicide in their respective contexts. A core focus of the event was the presentation of the OSCE’s new 2025 report “Mapping Trends in Combatting Femicide in the OSCE Region”, delivered by Elmaja Bavčić, Adviser on Gender in the Gender Issues Programme.

Saara Sofia Siren, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Special Representative on Gender and Member of Parliament, reiterated the OSCE’s commitment to advancing gender equality and ending violence against women

This discussion builds on the ongoing work of the Gender Issues Programme’s and reinforces the need for collaborative, cross-sectoral approaches to prevent femicide and ensure accountability.

The event took place within the framework of the multi-year ExB project “WIN for Women and Men: Strengthening Comprehensive Security through Innovating and Networking for Gender Equality.”