“Silence speaks volumes” : a feminist socio-legal analysis of femicide in Greece, in relation to the Istanbul Convention
“Silence speaks volumes” : a feminist socio-legal analysis of femicide in Greece, in relation to the Istanbul Convention
Date
2022
Authors
Anagnostopoulou, Styliani
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Abstract
Femicide is broadly defined as the killing of females by males because they are females.
Across the globe, 1 in 3 women is subjected to all kinds of violence by an intimate partner
or other perpetrators. In order to combat violence against women, the EU created its first
legally binding instrument, the Istanbul Convention. At a national level, in Greece, due to
the #metoo movement awakening, the phenomena of GBV, domestic violence, intimate
partner violence, and, thus, femicide gained visibility and provoked public interest.
Although developments have been made in terms of policies and legislation in the last two
decades, women seem to continue suffering violence disproportionately, most likely in the
hands of an intimate partner or other family members. Numerous feminists argue that
combating this complex phenomenon requires first understanding the underlying dynamics
of a world built by men for men and its' consequences, as in gendered roles and harmful
heteronormative expectations that perpetuate violence.
This thesis examines femicide as the most extreme form of violence against women in
Greece's socio-legal context in correspondence with the Istanbul Convention. The feminist
socio-legal analysis I am employing aims to expose patriarchy as a deeply rooted system
of gender oppression ruling in Greece's legal and social discourse, impeding women from
realizing their human rights and even from staying alive.
Description
Second semester University: University of Padua
Keywords
violence against women,
domestic violence,
Istanbul Convention,
feminism,
rape,
Greece,
Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence