On November 25, 2025, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Women in Exile & Friends invite you to an empowering conference titled “Stop Femicide! Justice for Rita” from 10:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at Schottstraße 6, 10365 Berlin.

Refugee women are exposed to various forms of gender-based violence during displacement in their home countries, while fleeing, and in host countries. This is often related to the type of accommodation. Shared accommodations and camps in Germany are no exception. We have received reports from women who are harassed and physically or sexually abused daily and who have no private space where they can feel safe.

We remember Rita O., our friend, sister, and mother of two, whose life was brutally cut short by gender-based violence. On a cold Sunday in April 2019, Rita disappeared from her home in Hohenleipisch. She was not carrying her jacket or her wallet. It wasn’t until three months later that her charred body was found just a few meters from her home. Since then, Women in Exile and its supporters have been working tirelessly to seek justice for her.

Demonstrations and awareness campaigns took the form of panel discussions and lobbying at various levels. These efforts resulted in the closure of the home in the middle of the forest, yet her murder remains unsolved.

This conference is intended as a memorial not only to “Rita O.,” but also to all women who have died as a result of patriarchal violence. The conference also serves as a call to strengthen and expand feminist networks, demand justice, and implement measures to prevent femicide and gender-based violence.