Femicide doesn't begin or end with a single act of violence. For the children left behind, it isn't just a headline; it is a permanent redirection of their entire existence.

Here are 10 things children of femicide carry that the world rarely sees:

1. The Violence Predates the Event Femicide isn't a "crime of passion" that happens in a vacuum. For most of us, the violence was a household member long before the murder. We felt the air change when he walked in; we saw the bruises before we saw the crime scene.

2. A Life-Long Continuum The murder is the earthquake; the aftermath is a lifetime of aftershocks. It changes everything: what you eat, where you sleep, who holds your hand, and what school you attend. Your entire identity is rewritten in a single night.

3. The "Eternal Coming Out" As a child, "Who are your parents?" is the baseline of social interaction. For us, answering that is an "eternal coming out." Every new teacher, friend, or employer forces us to decide: Do I tell the truth and watch their face fall, or do I hide?

4. Masking as a Survival Tool When the truth is "unbearable," lying becomes a shield. We mask our trauma to fit into dance classes and birthday parties. We aren't being dishonest; we are trying to survive a world that isn't built to hold our reality.

5. The Body Remembers Mother’s Day Even if we try to ignore the calendar, our bodies don’t. Mother’s Day often triggers a "weird mode"—sudden anger, inexplicable exhaustion, or deep grief. The nervous system remembers the void even when the mind tries to stay busy.

6. The Rage of Impunity Many of us grow up knowing the killer walked free or faced minimal consequences. Without justice, there is no "ceremony" for our grief. We are left with a mountain of rage and no safe place to put it, making it nearly impossible to trust the world.

7. The Unique Weight of Double-Orphanhood When your father kills your mother, you lose both parents in one second. One to the grave, one to the monster. It is a specific, unexplainable type of orphanhood that leaves you questioning your own DNA.

8. Social Isolation vs. The "Victim" Label We often avoid new spaces because the choice is exhausting: be the "tragic kid" who brings everyone down, or be the "liar" who pretends everything is fine. Isolation often feels safer than the weight of other people’s pity.

9. The Battle of the "Clans" When the perpetrator is family, the aftermath is a civil war. Navigating grandparents and cousins becomes a nightmare. Hearing a paternal grandmother ask for "forgiveness" for her son feels like a dagger to the heart. It forces us to distance ourselves from everyone just to breathe.

10. A World That Never Feels Safe When your first protectors become your first predators, "safety" becomes a foreign concept. This is especially true for daughters, who grow up watching the world through a lens of hyper-vigilance, wondering if they are destined to repeat the cycle.

This year marks 33 years since my mother, Lucy, was taken. She was only 33 herself. To honor her, I am launching LUCY33, an initiative dedicated to the "Femicide Aftermath." Because for those of us who survived, the cortisol never stopped pumping.

Honoring Lucy and Rosmery I write this for the 11-year-old Rosmery who watched her mother hide under the bed. I write this for the girl who spent her adulthood knocking on doors for pro-bono lawyers, terrified her father would find her.

Today, I am choosing to unmask. I am a caribbean joy-driven, irreverent storyteller, serious consultant and educator, that needs a lot of rest and the daughter of a woman who was burnt alive while pregnant. I am all of those things at once and it hurts picking and choosing which one to bring forward constantly.

Join the conversation: 33 talks this year on the Femicide Aftermath. Share with a family or a survivor. I’d love to know I’m not alone.

GENEVA / GLOBAL — While the world’s attention usually fades 72 hours after a tragedy, one study has refused to stop watching. The LUCY33 Initiative represents the world’s longest recorded longitudinal case study of a femicide aftermath, tracking the systemic, economic, and psychological rotation of a survivor family for over three decades.

Beginning on April 3, 1993, this study shifts the lens away from the crime itself to focus on the "Decadal Wake" it leaves behind. Led by the daughter of the victim—now a lead technical consultant—the study provides a unique, 33-year audit of how state systems, schools, and social safety nets either support or dismantle a family over time.

Why This Data Matters

Most academic research on violence is "snapshot" data, typically following survivors for only 12 to 24 months. LUCY33 fills the global "Temporal Blindspot" by providing primary evidence on the long-term journey of survival:

• The 10-Year Collapse: Identifying why trauma often manifests as academic and economic barriers a full decade after the event.

• Systemic Rotation: Mapping the recurring failure points where state institutions lose track of orphans during their transition into adulthood.

• The Legacy Protocol: A roadmap for institutional care that moves from "temporary aid" to "lifelong stability."

The Foundation of the Academy

Every module in the Femicide Aftermath Academy is built on this 33-year evidence base. We are moving from "data" to "infrastructure"—translating three decades of documented "failure points" into a validated technical protocol for global institutions. This isn't just a story; it is the blueprint for a new global standard of care.

LUCY33: Longitudinal Data & Evidence:

Study Metadata:

• • Duration: 33 Years (1993–Present)

  • Scope: Longitudinal analysis of post-femicide institutional interaction.

  • Key Discovery: The "72-Hour Fallacy"—the gap between immediate crisis response and decadal survival needs.

  • Outcome: The development of the Global Aftermath Protocol.

• 33 Awareness Talks at Universities, Events & Conferences  

• 33 Media Features Sharing the Realities of Femicide Aftermath  

• 33 Institutional Partners Supporting Families and Children Left Behind

These goals will ensure the experiences of families affected by femicide are heard, studied, and addressed — not left invisible.