We don’t want to write about the next one

In an op-ed, Kathimerini’s female journalists ask what must be done to break the vicious cycle of femicides.

It was the fifth time in just four months that we had to write a story about a woman who was murdered by her former or current partner because she was a woman; that we had to investigate the details of the crime, where she was when she was stabbed, or shot, or doused in flammable liquid, how many times she had reported him in the past, what had happened – or had not happened – and the authorities hadn’t protected her. Once again, we watched a man assure us that the authorities will get to the bottom of the failures that led to the woman’s murder, that responsibility will be sought, “if any is found.”

We write the news and each one of us brings up her own history from memory. We all have a story. About someone who threw us out of a car, hit us, threatened us, chased us down the street, sexually harassed us. We write the news and we know that no resignation will spare the next woman. Who will she be? Which name will appear in the police report in May, June, July? This vicious cycle is like Russian roulette.

We all have a story. About someone who threw us out of a car, hit us, threatened us, chased us down the street, sexually harassed us

We don’t want to write about the next woman. And for this to happen we have to start calling things by their name. It’s not a crime of passion, it’s not just murder. It is femicide: the killing of a woman for being a woman, the culmination of a culture of violence against women. What would be the reaction of the police officers at the precinct or the police emergency line if the call for help was made by the man? The adoption of the term officially by the Greek state would be a small sign of awareness of the problem.

We don’t want to write about the next woman. It is unacceptable that in 2024 a woman arrives at a police station with a complaint of abuse and the authorities are not mobilized. That her (our) survival actually depends on the degree of awareness of the respective officer. It is not enough to have a manual posted on some online police platform. It is time to write specialized, easy-to-use protocols, with a few steps, to deal with these incidents, different for each stage of the process. These protocols must then be placed in every office that deals with such issues and be immediately accessible.

We don’t want to write about the next woman. It is unacceptable that state services are not interconnected, that no alarm is raised when the perpetrator has attacked a woman before, that the reasons why a woman withdraws a complaint are not investigated. It is unacceptable that we are mocked by those who are supposed to protect us (in the latest killing, an officer told the 28-year-old victim who asked for a patrol car to take her home, “Lady, police cars are not taxis”). Even if an officer insinuates doubt, this can alienate a victim of abuse and prove fatal.

And we don’t want to write about the next woman.