The Increase of Violence Against Women and Femicides Suggests a New “Pandemic of Violence” Threatens Latin America
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–Researched and Written by Carmen Swafford—
Coping with the pandemic has created detrimental effects on society. Not only did the quarantine lead to the economic collapse and the complete shutdown of civilization, but the confinement also created dangerous environments for vulnerable women. While every other aspect of society declined, gender-based violence and femicides increased due to strict quarantine regulations enforced by Latin American governments. Critics had much to say about how the pandemic left women and children with little chance to defend themselves in abusive home environments or seek shelter and care.
Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic
In El País of Mexico, Almudena Barrgán reported that the pandemic triggered the “hell” of sexist violence that exists behind closed doors. So far, in 2021, over 38,000 emergency calls have been made in Mexico, according to official sources. However, what the official figures show is just a sample of the wave of violence that the country is experiencing. More than 2,400 people were murdered in March, and an average of ten women lose their lives every day at the hands of machismo. María de la Luz Estrada, director of the National Citizen Observatory of Femicide stated, “You not only have to judge with a gender perspective, but you also have to investigate and make expert reports with a gender perspective.” In the last three years, the crime of femicide has increased in the country by 8.5%.
In El Sol de la Laguna of Coahuila, Alberto Triana reported that 911 calls tripled for violence against women in Mexico. Triana suggested that the increase in cases of abuse was due to social confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused couples to spend more time at home. The stress caused by confinement, job loss, decrease in income, children at home 24 hours a day, and health adversities generated more unfavorable situations in which females were the most affected. Martha Rodríguez Romero, director of the Center for Justice and Empowerment for Women (CJEM) of Torreón, stated, “There were first-time reactions and they thought that it [violence] was only going to be presented on that occasion, but once the violence manifests, if it is not attended to and treated, it will hardly disappear. The violence has an escalation and nothing else disappears just for the sake of it.” Regarding the care in the Torreón Justice Center, Rodríguez Romero pointed out that there were 10,077 first-time and subsequent women in total. “So far, this year we have assisted 2,344 women,” concluded Rodríguez Romero.
La República of Lima noted that 50.9% of women indicated that street harassment in Lima remained the same during the pandemic. When reporting this type of violence to authorities, 30.77% of respondents stated that the victim’s behavior was questioned. Even though the influx of people in the streets is relatively less due to the pandemic, a type of gender violence known as “street sexual harassment” continued. Of the 440 women surveyed in Lima and Callao, 70.65% of them stated that the street is the space where sexual harassment occurs most, followed by public transport, with 8.35%, according to the results of the report “They harassed me too,” prepared by the organization Paremos el Acoso Callejero and the NGO Plan International Peru. Regarding the perception of street harassment during the COVID-19 pandemic, 50.9% indicated that this problem “remains the same” in the country, while for 47.20%, this violence “has increased a lot.” Compliments (48.18%), lewd looks (12.5%), and unwanted touching (11.36%) were the forms of street sexual harassment that were mentioned the most in the testimonies.
Clarín of Buenos Aires discussed the unforeseen consequence of femicides. More than 30 femicides registered in Bolivia in the first quarter of the year have left at least thirty minors orphaned. In the absence of specific policies to protect them, this population was “left to its own devices,” denounced the Observatory for the Enforceability of Women’s Rights. Eulogia Tapia, a member of the Observatory stated, “It is a very serious problem. For us, the main victims of femicide are the children and it is even worse when they are small. It is a population that has not been taken into account, with whom nothing is being done,” he lamented. The activist argued that due to these traumas, children orphaned by femicide require “certain types of differentiated care” that they mostly do not receive in shelters. Between January 1 and April 6, 2021, thirty-three femicides have been registered in Bolivia, according to information released by the State Attorney General’s Office.
El Universo of Guayaquil reported that 62 women were murdered in Argentina in the first quarter of 2021. The figure is equivalent to one femicide committed in the country every 35 hours, according to data released by Women of the Latin American Matria (Mumalá). In the latest update of its national registry, the feminist organization recorded a total of 94 violent deaths of women and transgender people in the first quarter of the year, a figure equivalent to one violent death every 23 hours. Additionally, 71% of the crimes were committed in the victim’s home or a shared one, and only 25% of the women victims of femicides had previously denounced their aggressor.
El Periódico of Guatemala City noted that the non-governmental organization, Catholics for the Right to Decide, reported that at least 18 women have died of femicide in Nicaragua so far in 2021. Catholics for the Right to Decide detailed that in the first 97 days of the year, they counted “19 violent deaths against women (Nicaraguans) committed by men,” including 18 in Nicaragua and one in Costa Rica. Another 41 women, who were assaulted, escaped being killed in Nicaragua, according to the report. The organization indicated that six of the attackers were partners of their victims, four were known men, three were unknown, two relatives, two were not identified, one ex-partner, and another co-worker. Deaths due to sexist violence continue in Nicaragua despite the fact that in recent years the Government has reopened the Women’s Police Stations after having received criticism for their closures. The establishment of life imprisonment for “hate crimes,” which the Government justified in sexist violence, has not influenced the frequency of femicides either. “The macho barbarism encouraged by the impunity and complicity of the State is ending the lives of women, adolescents, and girls. It is urgent that we commit ourselves to contribute from where we are and can, to stop violence against women,” concluded the NGO.
Victim Stories
In El País of Mexico, Almudena Barragán highlighted the stories of many unfortunate victims of femicide. For example, Victoria Salazar, 36, had arrived in Tulum from El Salvador on a government humanitarian visa to reside and work in Mexico. Recently, she was detained by four municipal police officers and held to the ground. The brutal action of the agents caused her death. She died on the way to the police station with a broken neck. President López Obrador acknowledged that the woman was brutally treated and murdered, and promised to punish the guilty with the full weight of the law. “It is a fact that fills us with sorrow, pain, and shame,” said the president. The authorities have arrested her partner for repeated sexual abuse against Victoria and one of her daughters.
Carmen N. was 80 years old and lived in Veracruz. She was brutally beaten and raped in her home in the Las Caballerizas neighborhood. Wounds from the attack caused her death days later. The Veracruz Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation folder for the crime of femicide. They have not arrested anyone responsible.
Ivonne Gallegos, 40, was to be the municipal president of Ocotlán, Oaxaca. A few weeks before the election campaign started, she was shot to death while traveling by car. A week before her assassination, Gallegos had a confrontation with the alliance of PAN, PRD, and PRI parties that were seeking her to present herself as the local candidate of the coalition. Differences with local leaders cost her attacks and threats through social networks. In a complaint to authorities, “Ivonne put the names of those who threatened her, with whom she might have a problem. Let’s hope that the authorities look for those responsible and that a crime like this does not go unpunished,” said activist Eufrosina Cruz. The Oaxaca Prosecutor’s Office investigated her murder as femicide.
Nicole, a seven-year-old girl, disappeared in the Rancho Don Antonio subdivision in Tizayuca, Hidalgo. A week later, she was found dead in the El Manantial dam, in the same town. Strong protests from relatives and neighbors in the area put pressure on state and municipal authorities that coordinated the search for the girl. The Prosecutor’s Office detained a man who was brought to justice as the main suspect in the disappearance and femicide of the minor.
In El Universal of Mexico City, Rebeca Jiménez reported on the femicide of 16-year-old Wendy Yoselin in Xonacatlá, Mexico. Her body was found among the drainage waters that lead to a canal in the Las Peñas Sports Unit’s vicinity. The victim appeared barefoot and lifeless. Experts from the Mexican Prosecutor’s Office began an investigation to verify her identity, find out the causes of her death, and locate signs of the aggressor or aggressors.
Another article in La Razón of La Paz, written by Paulo Cuiza, reported on Wilma Zurita Flores, the 32nd victim of femicide in Santa Cruz. The 27-year-old died from the injuries that her ex-partner caused at a supermarket in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. According to witnesses, the woman was walking alone, and when she was getting ready to enter the supermarket, she was intercepted by a man with whom she argued and who later attacked her with a kitchen knife. The assault wounded her neck and other parts of the body, which finally led to her death. According to a relative, the couple had two children and had been separated for a year.
Protests for Change and Justice
El Universal of Mexico City noted that the femicides of Victoria, Karla, Wendy, and Ana Lilia caused outrage. Thousands of women came out to demonstrate despite the regulations and fear of the pandemic. Violence against women in Mexico is what activists are now calling “the other pandemic.” The women protested the femicides, rapes, sexual abuse, harassment, and other violence they experience every day. Family and friends did not stop shouting slogans during the protest. Among them was a girl, only nine years old, who demanded justice and security.
Additionally, in El Universal of Mexico City, Justino Miranda recounted how the community came together during the remembrance of 16-year-old Ana Lilia. During Ana Lilia’s burial in Cuernavaca, a group of women sang the anthem against femicides. Her death brought together about 200 inhabitants who walked towards the pantheon with the white coffin on their backs. During the walk and the burial of the body, the cries of “justice for Ana Lilia” and “We are not going to be silent” echoed incessantly. The mourners also displayed cards to condemn the murder of Ana Lilia.
La República of Lima specifically reported on a women’s march in Mexico to protest the femicide of Victoria Salazar, the Salvadoran woman murdered by Mexican police in the municipality of Tulum. “Justice for Victoria!” was read on posters and graffiti. “Victoria didn’t die; the police killed her!” and “My friends take care of me, not the police!” were the slogans of the women in this mobilization. An attendee of the protest stated, “We are [here] out of solidarity with the girls and for everything that is happening to women, to make ourselves visible. We have to be listened to in one way or another. Things cannot continue like this.” Salazar’s death generated outrage from international organizations and groups that accused the Mexican security forces of racism and misogyny.