The Continuing Fight Against Femicide in Latin America
Image courtesy of L'odyssée Belle on Unsplash
“Ni una menos,” meaning “not one woman less” is commonly written on the posters of protestors against femicides throughout Latin America. Feminicidios, or femicides in English, are the intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender. Among 25 countries with the highest rates of femicide in the world, 14 are from Latin America and the Caribbean. Cases of femicides have occurred throughout Latin America for years but were most frequent in 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdowns, which influenced people across the region to protest and demand attention from their policymakers. Protests across the region called for government action to prevent femicides but to no avail.
Femicide is a global issue, but women in marginalized groups and who live in countries that are a part of the Global South are disproportionately victimized. In Latin American countries in 2021, femicides were most frequent in Brazil and Mexico with 1,900 and 1,015 cases respectively, as Honduras, Argentina, and Colombia followed with numbers of 234, 231, and 210. Femicides include intimate and non-intimate femicides, both of which are most common in Latin America. Intimate femicide is perpetrated by intimate partners who know their victims in one capacity or another, and non-intimate femicide is perpetrated by people the victim has no relationship with. In Puerto Rico, 35-year old Andrea Ruiz Costa was killed by her ex-partner because she tried to obtain a protection order against him. In instances of intimate femicide, women and girls are at risk within their own homes because of violent partners who may subject them to physical and sexual abuse that can eventually lead to their death. Their risk of being a victim to intimate femicide increased during the COVID-19 lockdowns when they were stuck at home with their violent partners for prolonged periods of time. As for instances of non-intimate femicide that are not informed by their personal relationships, gender inequality is prevalent in Latin America, women may be subjected to discrimination and violence which can lead to the perpetration of femicide. On October 31, 2022, 27-year old Ariadna Lopez’s body was found by police under a highway bridge in Mexico City where it was discovered that she was raped then murdered. While there has been progress in gender equality in Latin America, gender inequality is still deeply rooted in Latin American society. “Machismo,” a concept historically embedded in Latin American society and Hispanic households outside of Latin America, reinforces gender stereotypes that men are superior. This ideology may influence their actions to take gender-motivated violent action against women and girls. The rising rates of gender-based violence and femicides have pushed women to take to the streets in protest.
The first major wave of protest against femicide in Latin America, “Ni una menos,” began in Argentina in 2015. It eventually transformed into a major movement that spread to other Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, and Peru. The movement grew along with the increasing femicide cases in the following years and other gender-related issues such as the legalization of abortion. Later in 2020, tens of thousands of people became involved in a nationwide protest across Mexico against femicides, calling for the government to take action. While their first demonstration was to protest on the streets, on March 9, 2020 there was a nationwide strike with women staying home, not showing up to school, work, or any other public place. The demonstrations stopped when COVID-19 hit and occurred less after due to public health regulations, but despite the pause on “Ni una menos” making headlines, violence against women increased during this time. Even then, protests continued due to the inaction of Latin American governments in countering femicide. When International Women’s Month began in March of 2023, people across Latin America protested against issues that continue to affect women, such as gender discrimination, gender-based violence, including femicides. While organizations and groups have been formed to actively work in preventing femicides, the most impactful change can be made by their governments because change in legislation can cause a significant reduction in femicides.
Government response to prevent femicides and protect women has been minimal and slow. Femicides were not legally recognized in certain countries in Latin America until the 2010s. Currently, almost every Latin American country has criminalized femicide but is incorporated into their laws differently where femicides are met with different punishments. In cases such as Nicaragua in 2012, pre-established efforts to prevent gender-based violence were dismantled by religious and men’s organizations, weakening laws that were meant to protect women. The weakening of the laws stems from improper implementation and pressure from outside groups reinforced gender stereotypes. Even when governments have taken steps in preventing femicide, discrimination, corrupt judicial systems, and opposing societal pressure prevents their legislation from being fully effective. Legal systems in Latin America, such as Bolivia’s, have either failed to catch perpetrators or have given them lenient punishments where they are freed in a short amount of time. In response to this fault, the Bolivian government has begun to re-evaluate cases and enact proper punishments on the perpetrators. Since then, protests over the years have pushed governments to take action in ending the femicide crisis. Mexico’s efforts to counter gender violence are on both local and state levels, from establishing a prosecutor’s office on gender crimes to suspending a father’s parental rights if they are being investigated for femicide. While governments have taken steps in preventing femicide, discrimination, corrupt judicial systems, and opposing societal pressure prevents their legislation from being fully effective.
While some progress has been made, it has not been enough to counter the rising cases of femicides. In 2017, at least 2,795 women fell victim to femicides in Latin America and the number rose to 4,473 in 2021. The numbers are likely higher than reported because of uncoordinated data collection of femicides due to issues such as underreporting. The alarming rate at which femicides are increasing reveals that the government has to put in more effort to implement policies and pass legislation that protects women and prevents them from falling victim to femicides. Femicides and other types of gender-based violence are global issues that have to be addressed to protect women and girls now with lasting impacts on future generations. In an age where gender equality has come as far as it has, women should at least be able to live without fear of possibly being murdered simply because of their gender.
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