Similarly to previous years, we monitored Slovak online media in 2022–2025 — broadsheet daily newspapers, tabloid media, magazines, television crime reports, and regional outlets — for cases of the killing of women as a result of intimate partner violence against women and other femicides.

During the monitored period, according to media reports, 19 women were murdered in Slovakia.

These are cases of women killed by their abusive current or former partners or husbands. The data collected through monitoring may not capture all cases of femicide, as not all cases are reported by the media. Many media reports contain only limited information and are not always followed through to the conclusion of police investigations or court proceedings. As a result, in some reported cases it was not possible to establish the relationship between the murdered woman and the perpetrator or obtain sufficient details about the crime itself. Such cases were not included in the monitoring of femicides.

Intimate partner violence against women

The largest number of femicides were committed by a current or former husband or partner. In most cases, the women had been exposed to violent behaviour by their (ex)husband or (ex)partner prior to the killing, or they had decided shortly before their death to end the relationship or leave the partner. For example, Slávka (†49) had moved away from her violent husband before her death, and Veronika (†28) wanted to end the relationship.

International research shows that leaving or attempting to end an abusive relationship is among the most significant risk factors for severe violence or femicides. This is linked to the dynamics of violent relationships — when the abusive partner loses power and control, violence often escalates. Particularly dangerous are situations in which the partner intensely controls a woman’s everyday activities, isolates her from others, monitors her communication and behaviour, and displays possessive and jealous behaviour. These risk factors are evident in many media-reported cases of killings of women.

Externally, however, these forms of violence may not be visible — the couple may appear “normal”, as people see them together in everyday situations such as shopping or taking walks. Yet in cases of intimate partner violence against women, the constant presence of a husband or partner is not a sign of a healthy relationship, but of control.

Many of the killings during the monitored period were committed with extreme brutality: multiple stab wounds, strangulation, suffocation, slashing injuries, shootings, or burning. Agáta (†39) was strangled and dismembered by her husband; Jana (†40) was stabbed to death in her home; an 80-year-old woman in Košice was stabbed 32 times.

Most of the murdered women had minor or adult children; in some cases, it was the adult children who found their mother’s body.

In some cases, the perpetrator died by suicide after the killing; in others, he was arrested by the police and sentenced to a lengthy prison term. In most cases, the killings were intentional murders.

Femicides motivated by sexual violence and domestic violence

In addition to murders resulting from intimate partner violence against women, there were also cases in which women were killed by men who were not their partners — either unknown men, men from their close surroundings, or adult sons.

Sexual violence

In two cases, the motive was sexual violence — rape followed by killing or killing during the enforcement of sexual acts. In one case, the perpetrator was a man unknown to the woman; in the other, he was a friend of the landlord of the property where the woman lived. Sexual violence is not about sexual gratification. It is an expression of power and an attempt to control a woman’s body. Sexual violence poses an extreme threat to women — not only from unknown men, but also from violent husbands or partners, as it is a frequent component of intimate partner violence against women.

Elderly women and adult sons

Another significant group of victims are older women killed by their adult sons — three such cases occurred during the monitored period. The case of Viera (†73) or the woman from Matiašovce (†83) shows that sons often suffered from addiction or mental health problems and lived in the same household as their mothers. These are potentially highly dangerous situations, especially when an adult child refuses treatment or help.

From the work of Fenestra Counselling and Intervention Centre, we know that violence against older people by adult children is common and can be extremely dangerous. Police often intervene in such cases, but problems remain — high social tolerance of alcohol use, lack of prevention, insufficient awareness of the consequences of addiction, and strong feelings of shame or failure that prevent families from seeking help. Another barrier is the stigma associated with mental illness, which can discourage individuals and their families from accessing professional support.

Reflection and call to action

These cases reveal a tragic reality — most femicides in cases of intimate partner violence against women are predictable and preventable. They often occur at moments when the violent partner loses power and control over the woman.

It is therefore crucial that professionals across institutions and sectors are able to recognise typical patterns of abusive behaviour, identify risk factors, and assess the level of risk of severe violence or killing. It is equally important that the public, people close to the women, and women experiencing violence themselves have access to clear and understandable information about the dynamics of violent relationships.

Systematic education of children and young people about what is acceptable in relationships and how to build respectful, healthy partnerships is also essential. At present, such education is largely absent from the educational system.

The monitoring of femicides also shows that these cases are reported primarily by tabloid media and crime sections, which often emphasise sensationalism. Public-service and opinion-forming media — which could create space for public debate, raise awareness, and provide women with crucial information about the dynamics of power and control in violent relationships — address the issue only marginally. The absence of systematic, high-quality public discussion deepens societal misunderstanding of the problem and reinforces existing misconceptions and myths about violence against women.

Femicides as a result of intimate partner violence against women are therefore a stark reminder of the failure of society as a whole to protect women from violence.

Let us remember their stories.

Let us remember their names.

The monitoring of femicides was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic, within the 2024 grant scheme for the promotion of equality between women and men and equal opportunities.

Fenestra bears sole responsibility for the content of this article.