Despite the important changes in laws and institutional response, murders of women - femicides, as the most drastic consequence of domestic and intimate partner violence, are still our reality. The presence and availability of firearms and their misuse for violence against women represent an additional threat and increase the likelihood that the violence will result in death. In the Republic of Serbia, around 30 women are killed every year in a domestic-partner relationship context. Femicide is often followed by the suicide of the perpetrator.

In research on femicide, including murders of women with firearms, cases of femicide followed by suicide, which have their own specificities and unique risk factors, have not been explored in detail. That is why this research seeks to provide deeper insights into the problem of femicide followed by suicide through misuse of firearms. The goal is to better understand the circumstances that precede femicides and suicides, the main factors and characteristics of the act, its consequences and perspectives of possible interventions by institutions and the community.

The research is a contribution to the practice of regular collection, analysis and publication of data on femicides in order to better understand the phenomenon, to recognize the danger of escalation of violence and prevent new femicide cases.