We are counting again. Not numbers, we are counting absences. We are counting the mothers whose voices will never be heard again. We are checking our own pulse, racing with anger and terror. We are tallying the words of a system that whitewashes these acts, even as we wash away the blood. How many more? We are transforming fear into rebellion. From this day forward, we count only the dreams that are taking shape. We count the cries that shatter walls. We count one another, alive, standing tall and free. We will become the voice for those whose breath was stolen. We are here. And we will all be here!
These are not crimes of passion. It is not a matter of bad luck or an unfortunate moment. These are not isolated incidents born of a blind, impulsive instant.
The findings of our research on femicide reveal what society often refuses to see. Femicides are the extreme outcome of systemic, deeply rooted gender-based violence. They are crimes with a clear social and gendered dimension, crimes that thrive on tolerance. Scientific documentation and analysis of these incidents reveal patterns that repeat with chilling precision:
• In the overwhelming majority of cases, the perpetrators are partners, spouses or former partners, individuals who believed they held a right of ownership and control over the lives of their victims.
• Femicide rarely happens suddenly; it is almost always preceded by a cycle of psychological, verbal, financial or physical abuse.
• Data show that the risk escalates sharply when the victim decides to break the cycle and leave the relationship.
I was killed by the system that whitewashes them!
Tolerance, indifference, the normalization of everyday violence and lenient judicial rulings, this is the system that whitewashes the perpetrators. It is a system that sustains a culture of abuse.
As a research team, our goal goes beyond merely documenting the horror through statistics. Our research allows us to dismantle the myths used to justify the perpetrators, identify gaps in protection mechanisms and push for institutional change and the formal legal recognition of the term.
Our research looks at more than just numbers. She sees the women who were lost, the lives we must save. It is the foundation for transforming fear and grief into a call to action.
Let’s transform our fear into rebellion.
