Warning: this article contains descriptions of violence that may be disturbing to some readers.
A recent case in Madrid, catalogued as Case 078 on a public mapping platform, illustrates the brutal reality the project seeks to document. A woman was attacked in her home by her partner with two knives and died after suffering dozens of stab wounds. Neighbors later described a relationship marked by control, jealousy and psychological abuse. The couple had three children.
Case 078 appears on Artrededor, a website and app that maps femicides and presents each case with a marker on the map plus written and audio accounts drawn from official records. The app, created by Spanish conceptual artist Jana Leo together with her sister Isabel, uses public data to make visible where women were killed, with the stated aim of showing that such violence happens in ordinary neighborhoods and that remembrance can help prevention. Artrededor is updated annually and lists dozens of cases: in the Madrid region the sisters documented 157 women killed over the past 20 years.
When Leo presented the project and a companion book in Madrid, reactions were strong. Some visitors felt uncomfortable seeing murders mapped in their area; others recognized names or addresses of neighbors or acquaintances, including Case 080. Despite the unease, discussion at the event focused on prevention: teaching boys and young men in schools and universities about gender-based violence and emotional regulation, and introducing workplace education programs were among the measures attendees suggested.
Spain has been widely regarded within the European Union as a leader on this issue. In 2004 it became the first EU country to recognize gender-based violence as a systemic social problem and to enact dedicated laws and measures. For roughly two decades Spain has tracked detailed statistics and has built a network of specialized responses, including 461 criminal courts devoted exclusively to cases of violence against women. The annual tally of killings has begun to edge down slightly; in 2025 the reported number of women killed by men in Spain was 48.
Yet serious gaps remain. Some electronic GPS bracelets intended to monitor convicted offenders and protect potential victims were recently found to be faulty and vulnerable to hacking, undermining reliable tracking. There was also public outrage after it emerged that, in a recent two-month period, six of the ten women murdered had previously filed reports with the police. Spain’s Minister for Equality, Ana Redondo, acknowledged the limits of current protections, saying that authorities sometimes do not arrive in time and that protective measures are not always sufficiently agile or effective.
New technologies are being tested as possible tools to identify and prevent abuse. At Carlos III University in Madrid a small interdisciplinary team is investigating whether artificial intelligence can detect signs that a woman is a victim of violence from her voice. The research is premised on clinical observations that trauma changes speech patterns, tone and emotional expression. Around 150 women have participated in the pilot study, including some who have experienced male violence; psychologists are involved in the evaluation. The research team reports that the system identified victims in roughly 80% of trial cases, and they envision uses as an early-warning tool in settings such as medical consultations or police intake, where many victims have trouble recognizing or naming their own situation. Further development and broader deployment would require more funding and careful ethical oversight.
For Leo, the primary goals of Artrededor are remembrance and awareness. She argues that keeping victims’ stories visible honors their memory and supports survivors, likening the effort to how societies remember victims of war. The project also aims to prompt conversations about prevention, intervention and better support systems.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing gender-based violence, the website lila.help lists reputable helplines and NGOs offering support in nearly every country.