http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/EndingImpunityLAC.aspx
In this article, a Model Protocol has been launched to guide prosecutions and investigations of gender-based violence, or in this case murders of women in Latin America. The protocol was designed to help states to address the violence and justify their cases as well as aiming to ensure women live free from all violence and discrimination. A term used often in the article, “femicide”, is new to me but not to the woman in Latin America. The Swiss Government has statistics stating that globally there are 65,000 cases of femicide annually. Increasing rates of violence against women have been reported world wide, but of the twenty five countries with the highest rates of femicide, over half takes place in the Americas. The women facing these violent acts in most cases are killed by men they know or had former relations with, family members, and even friends. Gangs and criminal groups are also targeting women with higher rates of organized crime, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and the lack of adequate, legal framework. Several countries in Latin America have altered codes around gender related killings and have adopted measures in eradicating gender based violence. “Impunity rather than accountability continues to be the norm in many contexts”. We can relate this to our readings in Some Men, and how accountability is questioned with where to go, who to please, and how to go about addressing the issues. This protocol is a way to collaborate efforts to address and challenge impunity in the killings of women.
Do you agree that impunity is the “norm” rather than accountability efforts? What other actions would assist the protocol in making it more successful? Do you think it will create great change for the women in Latin America, and globally?