The horrifying number of femicides in our country is growing.

The 56-year-old woman who was brutally murdered yesterday in Thessaloniki by her partner is the ninth woman who lost her life this year because she was a woman.

There have been over 120 femicides in Greece over the last six years.

Dozens or even hundreds of women daily are brutalised by their spouses or partners and they do not dare to report it to authorities because they are terrified.

The phenomenon of gender violence is becoming a scourge.

It is positive that the publicity regarding these cases has kindled a public dialogue about the roots of this structural component of Greek society. The bad part is that we have done very little to find ways to confront it.

Our society id deeply patriarchal. Sexism is pervasive and gender inequality breeds and cultivates violence.

Hence, we need radical legal, social, and political interventions so that women will not hesitate to report the crime to authorities and so that men will know that they will be strictly punished

Naturally, femicide is not confined to Greece. Countries such as Spain, however, have taken decisive measures and have drastically reduced the incidence of such crimes.

We can learn from their experience, with measures such as creating shelters for the victims of brutalisation.

What is indisputable is that we cannot turn a blind eye.

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