In the Netherlands, every eight days a woman dies as a result of gender-based violence. Let’s say that again clearly: every eight days, a woman in our country is murdered because she is a woman. This is not a series of unfortunate incidents, nor a “private matter” that deserves “respect.” This is femicide, and it is on the rise.

Yet the public debate remains disturbingly silent. When it does get attention, it is often framed as a “family tragedy” or “a relationship gone wrong.” In doing so, we lose sight of the core issue: structural misogyny embedded in patriarchal power relations. Femicide is not an exception. It is the extreme end of a spectrum that starts with sexist jokes, boundary-crossing behaviour, and economic inequality between men and women.

As long as violence against women continues to be viewed as an individual problem (“he just couldn’t control his anger”), we keep intact the systems that produce and normalise this violence. Femicide is political. It is about power – who holds it, who loses it, and who pays the price.

What needs to be done?

Reducing the number of victims requires political courage, structural solutions and a radical shift in how we think about gender and violence. Several concrete steps are necessary:

Recognise femicide as a distinct crime category: The Netherlands does not register femicide as such, which makes policy hard to monitor and steer. As in Spain or Italy, femicide must be legally recognised as a specific form of violence.

Invest in prevention, not only react after the fact: We need structural funding for safe houses, hotlines and accessible support in cases of (potential) violence. Instead of sending women back into unsafe situations, the perpetrators – the men – should be targeted and held accountable.

Embed gender equality in education: Sex education and gender awareness must not be optional. Children and young people must learn what equality means, how boundaries work and why macho behaviour is not a “natural” trait.

End economic dependency: Women who are economically dependent have fewer possibilities to leave violent situations. Talking about femicide without addressing social housing, decent wages and public services is therefore meaningless.

Listen to women’s organisations: Grassroots feminist movements have long known how to prevent femicide – but their expertise is rarely taken into account in policymaking. They must be structurally involved in decision-making and given sustainable funding.

Femicide is not an isolated aberration. It tells us something fundamental about our society. About who believes they have the right to dominate and who is expected to submit. If we truly want a democratic and just society, we must start by protecting the most vulnerable voices. Not by laying flowers after the fact, but by ensuring it never happens in the first place.

It’s time to call it by its name and to put an end to it.

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