Research on femicide rewarded at Meijers Lecture
Research
University lecturer Mojan Samadi has won not only a Meijers Prize, but also the Van Wersch Springplank Prize for her outstanding contribution to science. Samadi examined the concept of femicide in a criminal justice context and highlighted the importance of a feminist perspective in gender-based murders.
The prizes were presented during the Meijers Lecture on 16 January. The Meijers Prizes are awarded for the best published scholarly article for each research programme. The Van Wersch Springplank Prize is rewarded with the sum of €10,000 and is presented to one of the winners of the Meijers Prizes for an outstanding contribution to their field of research.
Research on femicide
In her article Femicide of moord? Over het belang van een feministisch perspectief bij gendergerelateerde moorden (Femicide or murder? On the importance of a feminist perspective in gender-related murders), Mojan Samadi examines how the term femicide can contribute to the criminal law debate and policy. Her article was published in Rechtsgeleerd Magazijn Themis and emphasises the importance of understanding and naming gender-related murders as a specific type of violence.
What is femicide?
Femicide is internationally acknowledged as the murder of women because of their gender. This concept goes further than traditional legal approaches to murder, by analysing not only the act of murder, but also the social and structural context in which the act took place. Samadi stresses that recognising the murder of women as femicide, and therefore a form of gender-based violence, is crucial to understanding and addressing broader patterns of inequality and systemic violence against women.
Important contribution to science and policy
In her article, Samadi combines criminal justice analysis with insights from sociology and feminist theory. This interdisciplinary perspective makes her work not only unique, but also relevant for both academia and policymakers. According to the jury of the Van Wersch Springplank Prize, the article offers a valuable contribution to science by introducing a new analytical framework that is both theoretically strong and practically applicable.
Recognition and impact
Samadi's work was awarded the Meijers Prize for the best scholarly article per faculty research programme which was presented to university lecturers this year. Among the winners of the Meijers Prizes, the jury also selected Mojan as the winner of the Van Wersch Springplank Prize for publications by active and talented researchers in the field of legal research, amounting to €10,000. Both the Meijers Prizes and the Van Wersch Springplank Prize are prestigious awards within Leiden University and are a recognition of the social and scientific value of her research. Her article falls under the theme Vulnerable groups and inequality of the Criminal Justice: Socially effective criminal justice programme, which focuses on inequality.
Samadi's research shows how criminal justice can play a role in creating a more equal and just society. Her work not only offers new insights, but also constitutes a call to action for policymakers, researchers and society as a whole.