Event: Public lecture: ‘Intimate Femicide: The Institutional Response in Spain’
Date: 24 November 2022
Despite the evident progress made by the Spanish State in terms of laws and public policies, femicides continue to occur in the country and a constant number of women are murdered by their partners every year. This study aims to contribute to the improvement of the institutional response, identifying the gaps in the law and in practice when it comes to delivering justice to victims of femicide. It will address the responses in Spain along five key dimensions: laws, service structure, data, primary prevention, risk assessment and risk management.
Time: 17:30 - 19:30
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (LT1), University of Malta Msida Campus
Speaker: Dr Paz Olaciregui RodrÃguez (University of Zaragoza, Spain)
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (LT1), University of Malta Msida Campus
Speaker: Dr Paz Olaciregui RodrÃguez (University of Zaragoza, Spain)
To kick-off events commemorating the start of the 16 days of activism in the fight to end violence against women and girls, the Department of Gender & Sexualities in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in Malta will be hosting a public lecture titled ‘Intimate Femicide: The Institutional Response in Spain’ presented by Dr Paz Olaciregui RodrÃguez (University of Zaragoza, Spain) followed by a panel discussion.
Organic Law 1/2004 on Comprehensive Protection Measures against Gender Violence formally recognised gender violence as a State issue in Spain, as a violation of human rights. Understanding this violence as the result of the historical imbalance of power between men and women and the constant discrimination suffered by women demanded a comprehensive response and a clear commitment to prevention.
Despite the evident progress made by the Spanish State in terms of laws and public policies, femicides continue to occur in the country and a constant number of women are murdered by their partners every year. This study aims to contribute to the improvement of the institutional response, identifying the gaps in the law and in practice when it comes to delivering justice to victims of femicide. It will address the responses in Spain along five key dimensions: laws, service structure, data, primary prevention, risk assessment and risk management.
These five dimensions involve a complex web of actors, dynamics, budgets, plans, and of course variable outcomes. Dr Olaciregui RodrÃguez will try to provide a current and complete picture of the practices of diligence in the area of femicide by highlighting current approaches in the judicial sphere, contradictory on some key points such as the criminalisation of femicide or legislative modification, and convergent on others such as the recurrent demand for specific and compulsory training for judges. The translation of the different voices into a harmonised discourse could be a first step towards improving state intervention in cases of homicide due to gender violence and in the lives of the victims.
The event is sponsored by the Spanish Embassy in Malta. To conclude, refreshments will be served. Event is by registration only. Registration link (the deadline is on November 22).
About the speaker
Paz Olaciregui holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Zaragoza, a Master's degree in Public Policy and a degree in Political Science and Sociology from the University Carlos III of Madrid. She is a recent recipient of the Margarita Salas Postdoctoral Grant, awarded by the Spanish Government to continue her work in the Antigona Research Group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is currently working as a researcher in several projects related to gender violence and as a consultant for several national and international public institutions, such as the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030 or the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). She has carried out several research stays in countries as diverse as Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. Part of the research carried out in these contexts can be found in some of her published articles or in her latest book: Women at risk: beyond fear and violence.
