Almost four decades have passed since the term femicide was coined in 1976. This new word had a political purpose, in that it intended to produce changes in the social order which tolerated the violent death of women. Since that time, the word has generated a theoretical concept that encompasses the killing of a woman as a specific social phenomenon. Femicide is an effort in sociological imagination that has been successful in transforming conventional perception, public awareness, scientific research and policy making. This article undertakes to review how femicide has evolved in social research. It analyses the most important theories explaining femicide: the feminist, sociological, criminological, human rights and decolonial research approaches and their theoretical significance. It discusses Mexico as a case study, exemplifying how a new English term was then translated into another language and applied in a very specific socio-political context, so that it became instrumental in changing reality and improving the lives of women. Finally, the article proposes a framework where femicide is understood as a social phenomenon that demands an interdisciplinary approach. The authors Downloaded from 2 Current Sociology recommend a systemic, multifaceted model in order to improve both scientific analysis and prevention.

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In this article, we present the results of a strategy to disseminate best social work practices during periods of social lockdown in Spain, in a climate characterised by post-truth, misinformation and fake news. Social work is challenged with the task of delivering reliable and quality information aimed at building a better society. At the time of writing, Spain was one of the countries most affected by COVID-19, with one of the highest numbers of deaths per million inhabitants in the world. With the population in lockdown, our strategy was to design a series of innovative web seminars on both the subject and the procedures involved in social work, with the aim of sharing information and best practices to counter disinformation campaigns on social media. The results show the growing demand – both by citizens in general and students and professionals in particular – for reliable information in the field of professional practice. One of the priorities of digital social work must be to disseminate its results in the digital environment.

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Résumé Le fémicide est plus qu’un néologisme. Il désigne un phénomène violent et un meurtre intentionnel. Tous les fémicides sont l’expression d’une forme extrême de violence. Il s’agit d’une « pathologie sociale ». Nous devons donc lutter à l’échelle locale et mondiale contre ces crimes atroces et méprisables. Peu de sociétés sont épargnées par cette forme de violence. Nous devons donc décrire, analyser et rendre compte de ce phénomène. Cet article explore les différentes approches internationales du fémicide en insistant sur les explications théoriques, les analyses empiriques et les politiques publiques. Il réunit des articles représentatifs des différents pays et des différentes perspectives et approches théoriques. En raison de son caractère interdisciplinaire, ce thème pose un défi aux professionnels et au public : nous espérons donc que ce travail permettra d’établir des convergences sur les résultats de la recherche, de dégager un consensus sur les définitions et de rassembler un corpus de connaissances structurées capables d’améliorer l’efficacité des politiques de prévention des fémicides. À partir des travaux consacrés à ce sujet particulier, nous proposons de construire un discours à même de fournir aux professionnels les moyens nécessaires et le cadre cohérent pour élaborer les futures politiques de prévention des féminicides. L’appropriation multiple des résultats substantiels de cette étude permettra également des avancées.