The Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (French: ATFD) is conducting mock trials Saturday and Sunday at the Convention Centre, Tunis, to hear two cases of feminicide (2008 and 2022).
Both killings occurred after the promulgation of Law 58 on the elimination of all forms of violence against women.
This mock court is designed to raise awareness about femicides and violence against women through cases taken up by AFTD lawyers, ATFD President Neila Zoghlami told TAP.
The mock court, the third of its kind, fits within the The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. It is designed to decry the failure of the judiciary and State institutions to handle femicide and pay tribute to the memory of the victims.
In this mock trial, participants will be judges, lawyers, prosecutors, witnesses, and defendants. Femicide victims will come under the spotlight in a bid to understand root causes and the shortcomings in law enforcement.
The number of femicides rose over the recent years, Zoghlami sai
d, reaching 27, not counting unreported cases, suspicious deaths and female farmhands who died due to inhumane transport conditions.
Association member and lawyer Hela Ben Salem, who will preside over the mock court, said femicide in Tunisia and across the world is seen as a hate crime targeting victims “solely because they are women” and as a result of the passive attitude shown by State agencies in tackling femicide.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse