When we imagine safe or danger-free spaces, we think of the home or our closest circles. However, that is not the reality for women around the world.

UN Women affirms that, on average, more than five adult women or girls are murdered every hour by someone in their own family or by their intimate partner. Moreover, while 56% of female homicides are committed in the private sphere, in the case of men, only 11% occur in this context.

What is femicide?

In general, it is understood as the intentional murder of a woman for her gender. In most cases, are committed by a current or former partner of the victim and are preceded by harassment, abuse, intimidation and sexual violence.

This is why it is so important that, as a society, we monitor, reject and denounce all these types of gender-based violence, physical or otherwise, as they are often the prelude to homicide.

These are the stories of three women who show us the long road that remains to be traveled to achieve gender equality and the elimination of violence against women:

Luz Mery Tristán

Roller skater and cyclist who won Colombia’s first world skating title in the 5,000-meter race in 1990.

After becoming world champion, she left the competitions, but not the rinks, and founded her own skating school where other champions such as Daniela Mendoza, Rommy Muñoz, Sebastián Garcés and Johana Viveros were trained. He also created a sportswear company.

In the early morning of August 5th, 2023, Luz Mery Tristán was murdered by her partner. Since the previous week, she had told her inner circle that she was going through a difficult time with her partner, as he was acting possessive and jealous.

Valentina Trespalacios

Colombian DJ and influencer who was murdered at the age of 21 by her romantic partner.

In December 2021 she met her romantic partner, a foreigner who was in Bogotá. They began a relationship, but in January 2023 she was found dead with signs of physical aggression and torture. This person, who committed the attack, tried to flee to Turkey, but was captured at the Panama airport where he was making a connection.
After the investigation, the Attorney General’s Office stated that the evidence revealed a history of psychological violence and that on the day of the events the defendant had beaten and suffocated Trespalacios during a jealousy attack. Later, this entity requested the maximum sentence: 50 years for the crime of femicide.

Ana María Serrano

She was a medical student in Mexico City and her dream was to become a cardiologist. She was 18 years old when she was murdered by her ex-partner. After committing the femicide, he wrote a text message to Ana María’s mother from his cell phone to make her believe that the motive for the death was suicide.

The mother, upon noticing the tone and nature of the message, immediately became suspicious, since this was not the way her daughter spoke and it did not coincide with what she had told her in previous days. The autopsy soon confirmed that Ana María had been murdered.
Three months before the femicide, Ana María had broken up with the perpetrator and after that he began to pressure and harass her: he sent her frequent text messages, stopped by her house unexpectedly and, a week before the murder, the harassment intensified. The authorities also proved that Ana María received threats and that the murder was premeditated.