Silence by Institutions: A Comparative Study of Femicide and State Responses in England and Wales and Italy
- Aug 6
- 1 min read
By Federica Aurora Salanitri,
London Metropolitan University.
Femicide represents one of the most severe forms of gendered violence. It exposes the limits of state protection, despite extensive legal frameworks addressing domestic abuse and lethal violence in both Italy and England and Wales. This dissertation adopts a qualitative, documentary-based comparative methodology to examine how legal definitions, institutional structures and professional cultures shape the state’s capacity to prevent escalation. Drawing on feminist criminology, institutional theory, and victimology, as well as national reports and judicial analyses (DV21 dossier; Sanders and Young 2021; HMICFRS, 2021; House of Commons Library, 2023; ISTAT, 2023; Benvenuti, 2018), it analyses the cases of Sarah Everard, Banaz Mahmod, Giulia Cecchettin and Matilde Sorrentino.
Findings indicate that gender-neutral frameworks in England and Wales often conceal structural inequalities and contribute to fragmented institutional practice, while Italy’s explicit recognition of femicide does not prevent judicial delays, uneven service provision, or procedural rigidity. Across both jurisdictions, agencies tend to intervene only after violence has escalated significantly. These patterns reflect institutional silence particularly through minimisation, together with bureaucratic delay (Walby, 2011; Hester, 2006; Bruzzone, 2020; Murgia, 2021).
The dissertation argues that femicide should be understood not only as an act committed by an individual perpetrator but also as the outcome of institutional decisions, omissions, and wider patriarchal structures that shape state responses (Renzetti, 2013; Badinter, 2011). Preventing escalation requires structural reform together with better interagency coordination and a broader change in institutional attitudes. Institutions must also respond more quickly to warning signs, and recognise coercive control before violence reaches its most serious stage.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21824907