Action day with lecture, exhibition and offers
International Day against Violence against Women on 25 November
On Friday, 25 November at 10.30 a.m., interested parties are invited to a lecture followed by a discussion on the topic of femicide at the Stadt-Schau-Fenster in the Technical Town Hall, Friedensplatz 1. The occasion is the International Day against Violence against Women, also known as Orange Day, a day of remembrance and action to combat all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
The lecture will be given by lawyer Susanne Köhler from Dresden. She is, among other things, chairwoman of the Saxony State Women's Council and active in the German Women Lawyers' Association. Anyone interested in Chemnitz is cordially invited to attend.
In the afternoon, there will be other activities for affected, formerly affected and interested women, including a circle dance from 1 to 2.30 pm. There will also be a small exhibition of pictures created as part of prevention events at Chemnitz schools. Information material will be on display and the staff of the Frauenhilfe will be available for discussions. The event is organised by Frauenhilfe Chemnitz e.V. and the Equal Opportunities Officer of the City of Chemnitz, Pia Hamann.
Background:
One in three women in Germany has experienced physical and/or sexualised violence since the age of 15. Statistically speaking, that is more than 12 million women. Every day, a man tries to kill a woman. According to the BKA, a femicide occurs approximately every third day.
A femicide is a homicide of a woman, a murder, manslaughter or assault resulting in death, which is significantly related to the female gender of the victim. An obvious form of femicide is the so-called "honour killing", in which the death of a woman who has damaged the reputation of the man or the family is intended to restore the "family honour".
The most common form of femicide is intimate partner violence. This violence within existing or ex-partnerships has grown historically and is still based on alleged gender superiority and insinuations. Around half of all femicides can be attributed to this area and many "honour killings" also fall into this category.
Sometimes murders of women are also carried out out of misogyny, without the perpetrator and victim having a personal relationship. For example, the attackers in Halle, Winnenden, Christchurch and Toronto saw themselves explicitly threatened by feminism.