VISION researcher, Lizzie Cook, speaks at Dutch Embassy Just Talk(s) event on femicide

On 10 December 2024, celebrated globally as Human Rights Day and the final day of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign, the Dutch Embassy in London organised a panel discussion on femicide and the criminalisation of violence against women and girls.

Lizzie Cook was invited to speak as part of the event which was opened by the Dutch Ambassador Paul Huijts and Liaison Magistrate Wendela Mulder, and moderated by Lotte Wildeboer. The afternoon consisted of talks by Professor Sandra Walklate (of the VISION Advisory Board), Judith van Schoonderwoerd den Bezemer-Wolters (Dutch Public Prosecutor for Domestic and Sexual Violence), Katie Hoeger and Angela Whitaker (VKPP and College of Policing), and Janine Janssen (Dutch Police Academy). The event was part of a series of Just Talk(s) organised by the Dutch Embassy which seek to foster dialogue and exchange ideas on particular issues.

The panel addressed a range of themes including challenges in current definitions of femicide, the implications for data and measurement, and what this means for prevention.

To read more about some of the themes discussed in this panel, do take a look at Lizzie, Sandra and Kate Fitz-Gibbon’s 2023 special subsection of Current Sociology: Re-imagining what counts as femicide which brings together contributions on femicide from the UK, South Africa and Latin America.

Photograph from Adobe Photo Stock subscription