Femicide is the killing of women. It is not just the homicide of women because they so happen to be female but the killing of women just because they are female. It is a term that was coined in Latin America. The reason that it was coined was because there is a prominent issue of gender based violence against women in Latin America.
Discussions about femicide in Latin America are being brought aware. Most of the reason femicide is an issue is due to toxic masculinity, also known “machismo.” Machismo is known as strong masculine pride, what we know as toxic masculinity. Toxic Masculinity is rampant in Latin America due to culture. In their culture it is common for women to always be silent about issues, and men are seen as higher up. Men are typical physically dominant and demand respect from their wives, children, girlfriends, etc. Another reason why Femicide is rampant is because the government ignoring women’s demands and outcries. There are many organizations and protests being brought up about femicide but the government still does nothing about it.
Femicide not only happens to older women but it happens in Latin America to young girls. In Mexico, everyday 10 women are killed just on the basis of gender. El Salvador and Honduras are one of the top 5 highest countries with femicide. Since the government does not seem to help the women in these countries they have set up ministries for women, used social media to bring awareness and even the United Nations has set up a spotlight initiative to prevent violence against women. To tackle the problem, many have argued that Legally distinguishing femicide from homicide allows for investigations to be conducted with a gender-based lens and for perpetrators of femicide to face distinct punishments will help.
I think that these ideas set in place to help and prevent femicide are great. It gave me a different ways to think about how you can the victims who are facing these issues as well as the women living in these countries as well.
Women protest for their lives: Fighting femicide in Latin America