All over the world femicides are occurring and gender based violence is constantly being shown through the news, social media, and by word of mouth every day! Femicide is the killing of women for cultural or gender based reasons, it ties closely with hate crime and sexism. Today, violence against women and young girls is ongoing with incredibly high rates in Central America. El Salvador holds the highest rate of femicide or gender motivated killings in the world. Guatemala is not far behind placing third while Honduras follows behind in sixth place. These Central American countries execute violence brutally with some victims being burned with their feet and hands bound together, some are beheaded, tortured, and raped before their death. From the year 2000 there were approximately 200 reported cases of femicide in Central America raising to over 600 reported cases by the year 2011.Domestic violence cases began with around 1500 cases in the year 2000 which increased to over 6000 cases in 2009 and 2010.
The widespread accounts of murder correlate with the widespread impunity. With very little to no help from their government and its officials, people in these countries know they will be exempt from prosecution for several reasons. First, institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting these cases lack the financial resources leaving them underfunded as well ineffective. There is some help coming in from activists and government officials, but not enough is being done or provided for those facing abuse. Laws and regulations are not being enforced properly or at all for the matter! There are no shelters for battered women, funding for help or support, and what about the abused children with no place for refuge? Child abuse is extremely common with high rates residing in Central America with high numbers of child trafficking victims as well. Extra judicial killings are very common in these countries, they are illegal government sponsored executions of minors. In 2009, 447 cases were reported and had risen to 802 in 2010 and a whopping 1068 in 2011. Again, there are no shelters for these children, no refuges, no government regulation or laws exempting these acts or laws of strict punishment.
In efforts to improve these statistics and provide aid and support to these women and young girls who fall victim to abuse, the CGRS was formed. This group has goals to combat femicide and provide a pathway to protection for gender based violence victims or victims of domestic abuse. Human rights advocates and campaigns have been stepping up to the plate in fighting for women’s rights and a fact-finding mission has been launched to gather information from all perspectives. I think prevention programs, support groups, and by educating younger generations about the ongoing issue will help to push for the positive change Central American countries and their people need. Safety tips, regulating and overseeing officials at work, or training programs for officials and activists to properly engage in positive change would also be essential. We can’t stand around and let the violence continue to sky rocket. We the people must come together and fight together for equality and justice for all.