Alarming rates of femicide in Latin America
Sara Gwin
Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: Forum
There also seems to be a link between the rise in power and money of drug cartels in Juarez, who are thought to have paid off or worked with the police department for their blood sport.
Investigative journalist Diana Washington-Valdez found through leaks from the FBI and Mexican investigators that there a group of men she calls "the untouchables" - millionaire men with political connections even up to President Vicente Fox who take part in this blood sport.
Juarez may be the most well known area for femicide - mass murders of women - but it is not the only place it happens.
Throughout Latin America, femicide is currently on the rise. In Guatemala, it has been estimated that 3,000 women have been slain since 2000, with numbers today tripling those from eight years ago.
Like Juarez, the trademarks of many of these killings include sexual violence, mutilation of body parts and severe torture, while leaving bodies in empty lots.
There is also a lack of proper investigation and implications of police officers. Some murders are perpetrated by gangs who use dead women as a sign of their power, as well as a challenge to the government with defiant messages scrawled next to the dead bodies or carved into them.
The culture of Guatemala reinforces male dominance. Many theorists see these crimes as a backlash against women since the 1998 civil code. Since the change, men can no longer object to women working outside of the home and the men no longer have sole custody of the children within marriage. However, these changes by no means created equality for women.
Marital rape is still legal. A rapist can marry the woman or girl (12 years of age or older) to escape consequences, and domestic violence is not criminalized.
Women's rights organizations have been started in order to help combat the violence by increasing awareness, but they have been met with resistance. Women and their families have been gunned down and tortured in very public ways while others have been met with threats.
Investigative journalist Diana Washington-Valdez found through leaks from the FBI and Mexican investigators that there a group of men she calls "the untouchables" - millionaire men with political connections even up to President Vicente Fox who take part in this blood sport.
Juarez may be the most well known area for femicide - mass murders of women - but it is not the only place it happens.
Throughout Latin America, femicide is currently on the rise. In Guatemala, it has been estimated that 3,000 women have been slain since 2000, with numbers today tripling those from eight years ago.
Like Juarez, the trademarks of many of these killings include sexual violence, mutilation of body parts and severe torture, while leaving bodies in empty lots.
There is also a lack of proper investigation and implications of police officers. Some murders are perpetrated by gangs who use dead women as a sign of their power, as well as a challenge to the government with defiant messages scrawled next to the dead bodies or carved into them.
The culture of Guatemala reinforces male dominance. Many theorists see these crimes as a backlash against women since the 1998 civil code. Since the change, men can no longer object to women working outside of the home and the men no longer have sole custody of the children within marriage. However, these changes by no means created equality for women.
Marital rape is still legal. A rapist can marry the woman or girl (12 years of age or older) to escape consequences, and domestic violence is not criminalized.
Women's rights organizations have been started in order to help combat the violence by increasing awareness, but they have been met with resistance. Women and their families have been gunned down and tortured in very public ways while others have been met with threats.
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