This workshop, taking place in Bucharest, will address the law’s potential for protecting against femicide, as well as the crucial work of academics and activists in creating safe spaces for women.
Every 10 minutes, a woman was intentionally killed by a partner or family member in 2024 (UN Women, 2025). Introduced in 1976 by feminist Diana Russell, femicide , understood as the targeted killing of women on the basis of their gender, has been addressed as a distinct crime in a number of penal codes from Latin America to Europe. Romania has recently joined the ranks of countries outlawing femicide through Law no. 53/2026. In spite of such progress, women in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe remain targets of gendered killing at alarming rates.
The workshop SAFETY FOR WOMEN. Legal and Activist Contributions to Addressing Femicide in Central and Eastern Europe will address the law’s potential for protecting against femicide, as well as the crucial work of academics and activists in creating safe spaces for women. Topics for discussion will include the benefits of addressing gendered crimes as distinct legal categories, the distinction between femicide and feminicide , the necessity of data collection and monitoring, and the elements of gender-sensitive legal interpretation.
The workshop is taking place off-campus in Bucharest and is rooted in the project Feminist Judgments in Central and Eastern Europe as a response to gendered democratic backsliding, coordinated by Prof. Silvia Suteu and funded by the Widening Europe Programme. The workshop is co-organized by the EUI and the University of Bucharest, through CPES (Centre for Equal Opportunities Policies). Partner: CEREFREA (The Regional Center for Advanced Francophone Studies in Social Sciences).