Regional conference in Skopje opens with warning: over 50,000 women killed yearly by partners

A regional conference on femicide opened today in the Parliament of North Macedonia with speakers warning that such killings are rarely isolated incidents but instead the final stage of sustained gender‑based violence that societies have ignored or downplayed. Organizers underlined global figures showing that more than 50,000 women and girls are killed each year by partners or other family members.

The Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu addressed the conference by video, saying the problem is both a grave human‑rights violation and a threat to collective security.

He told participants: "According to United Nations data, every year more than 50,000 women and girls are brutally killed by their partners and by other family members. These figures say enough that prevention and protection mechanisms are still not as effective as they should be. Femicide remains a grim mark on all societies and that is why we gathered here, to discuss concrete ways to improve our efforts to end femicide and to build the most innovative practices" — said Sinirlioğlu.

OSCE initiatives and recent reporting

Sinirlioğlu emphasized that combating violence against women is a priority for the OSCE and noted recent institutional steps. He said the organization has ramped up efforts to fight femicide, including promoting better exchange of good practices, and pointed to an OSCE report on femicide published in March 2025 that included material on response and criminal justice.

He added: "Through the engagement of our current operatives, we provide support to local authorities in the fight against femicide, including by establishing effective protection and prevention. Support for the Femicide Watch initiative, which is a high‑level forum chaired by North Macedonia, is an example. With our work and the many significant challenges ahead we must act clearly" — said Sinirlioğlu.

Vesna Bendevska, Vice‑President of the Parliament, called the conference a serious regional platform that brings together political representatives, justice officials, independent experts and civil society. She stressed that preventing femicide requires sustained political commitment, reliable data, dedicated institutions, transparency and multidisciplinary cooperation.

Bendevska warned that femicide is the most extreme form of violence against women and recalled global statistics: "Femicide, that is gender‑based killing of women and girls, represents the most extreme manifestation of violence against women. At the global level in 2024 there were 83,000 victims women and girls recorded, of which 50,000 were killed by an intimate partner or other family member. That means that on average 137 women and girls per day were killed by someone in the family or immediate circle" — she said.

She also outlined that North Macedonia is developing its first national Femicide Watch mechanism with OSCE support, intended to systematically monitor and analyse femicide and attempted femicide cases, track judicial proceedings and provide a public platform. Bendevska argued that linking multidisciplinary and multisectoral actors will help spot warning signs, identify institutional shortcomings and turn lessons from individual cases into better prevention.

Photo: press material from the event