www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, March-April 2005Hundreds dead in Guatemala femicidio
Guatemala--The more than 340 women found murdered in
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, since 1993 have been well documented with U.S. women
uniting with their sisters in Mexico to demand the killers be found and
prosecuted. But when I crossed the border to Guatemala, similar stories appeared
daily: women mutilated, raped, murdered. According to the feminist newspaper LA
CUERDA (11/2004), "In the past two years, more than 700 women in Guatemala
have died from femicidio," that is, "the mass slaughter of
women." In 2002, 184 women were killed, in 2003, 250 women, and
in 2004 more than 300 women (Associated Press, 8/28/2004). One third of all
homicides against women are related to domestic violence. This message of
intimidation tells women to leave the public space and end their role in the
development of Guatemala. Most of the murdered women were poor, between the ages
of 18 and 30. Of all domestic violence femicidios, one third happened in
Guatemala City. Of the homicides recorded, 31% of the women had already reported
previous threats. When women do report violence "The police arrive once and
never return again" (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights).
Vice-president Eduardo Stein says that the Guatemalan government is getting a
bad rap because, "the same level of violence exists in other Latin American
countries as well" (PRENSA LIBRE, LORENA SEIJO). I interviewed Maya, from Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres
(Guatemalan Women's Organization, GGM), asking what she thought about his
statement. She said: "It’s not the number that is important; violence
against women exists. The major response is that this violence is general, that
it’s not against women. The government is not doing much. There’s an
investigation going on, but it’s only in the capital. "The consensus from women’s groups is that the
police and governmental response is insufficient to make any difference in
women’s lives. While there are pro-women laws and the government supported
CONAPREVI (National Coordinator for the Prevention of Domestic Violence), little
action has been seen. Indigenous women dealing with violence face a judicial
system plagued with racism and little bilingual support. In Guatemala City, GGM
has one safe house for women and one in Xela, Nuevos Horizontes. "Two shelters are hardly enough. When women have
the courage to speak out, the investigations are usually short-changed and
nothing comes of it. 'Lack of proof' ends up meaning that women must endure the
possibility of violence happening again, or worse. "We write about the issue, report on it, and, on a
governmental level, CONAPREVI is helping to make laws. We do sit-ins,
demonstrations, vigils, marches. Last year we marched against violence against
women and a lot of people came out." Despite bureaucratic walls and a misogynist culture,
Guatemalan women are fighting and making the media and government listen. They
are changing their society. The fact that I had access to so much information is
due to the work of many Guatemalan women. Contact the U.S. embassy in Guatemala at:
Guatemala Av. La Reforma7-01, Zona 10 (Ask them why the U.S. is considering giving
$3.2 million dollars to the Guatemalan army when it could obviously be used
better elsewhere.) --Jen S. |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
