Femicide, the murder of a woman based on her gender in particular by a man, continues to plague Latin America. From Mexico to Argentina, femicides have skyrocketed only to be met with impunity at all levels of government.
But resistance is growing. The epidemic of gender violence has united women of all races under the rallying cry, "Ni Una Menos," or "Not One Less."
In the memory of Yuliana Samboni, Lucia Perez, Jennifer Antonio Carillo and the countless other victims of gender violence, teleSUR explores the roots of the femicide crisis, the failure of the justice system to address it and the resistance movements rising up to demand an end to violence against women.
The Trend of Femicides in Latin America on the Rise in 2017
A recent report released by Argentina's Wanda Taddei Institute found that 57 women had been killed so far in 2017, one of the highest rate in the region. While in 2016, one woman was estimated to die every 30 hours on average, now the time frame has lowered to every 18 hours. READ MORE
Women's Murderers Evade Justice as Femicide Surges in Guatemala
Femicide in Guatemala continues to spiral out of control, showing that specialized laws and personnel charged with fighting the epidemic of gender violence have so far not been able to do enough to tackle the fatal problem affecting the country’s women. READ MORE
Latin American Women’s Problem: We Keep Getting Murdered
Several studies have shown that Latin America is the worst place in the world to be a woman. A Gallup survey has shown that Latin American women feel they are not treated with respect and dignity. Dissatisfaction was highest in Colombia, Paraguay, El Salvador, Guatemala and Peru. READ MORE
'Available Meat:' Rape Used as Weapon of War in Guatemala
In 1999, three years after the peace accords were signed in Guatemala, the U.N.-backed Truth Commission investigating civil war atrocities found that rape was systematic and widespread during the conflict. According to the commission, “the rape of women, during torture or before being murdered, was a common practice aimed at destroying one of the most intimate and vulnerable aspects of the individual’s dignity.” READ MORE
Femicide in Mesoamerica Persists as Systemic Gender Violence
Femicide is not a matter of isolated incidents or individual “bad apples.” Instead, violence against women, especially indigenous women and women of color, has long been a structural component of establishing and maintaining capitalist and colonial states. READ MORE
Justice Still Slow Despite Femicide Laws in Latin America
Latin America is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman, with seven out of 10 countries with the highest femicide rates coming from the region. A high rate of impunity — among other broader issues of security and inequality that make women vulnerable — contributes to a normalization of violence against women in these countries. READ MORE
Paraguay's Congressmen Gut Gender Violence Bill
Paraguay's lawmakers gutted a bill intended to address gender violence in the country—even removing the word "gender"—and rejected a US$20 million credit offer that would have funded the Ministry of Women. READ MORE
Brazilian Women Celebrate 10 Years of Law Against Femicide
The "Maria da Penha Law," named after a Brazilian woman who was repeatedly beaten and rendered a paraplegic by her husband, gave a legal definition to the crime of femicide—the killing of a woman by a man because of her gender—and created specialized jurisdictions and a support network to protect women from gender violence. READ MORE
Chile's Inflatable Doll Fiasco Exposes Deep-Seated Sexism
Chilean Economic Minister Luis Felipe Cespedes posed with an inflatable doll, a gift from a business leader who said that the "economy had to be stimulated like a woman." READ MORE
Life in Leggings Movement Fights Gender Violence in Caribbean
A new feminist movement is growing in the Caribbean, from Barbados to Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago, to speak out against gender violence in the region that women say is all too common. READ MORE
'Ni Una Menos': Feminism and Politics in Argentina
A historical national-wide demonstration marks a turning point in the development of a feminist movement and is likely to affect local politics. READ MORE
Uruguayan Women Protest Gender Violence, Demand Femicide Law
Uruguay joined the wave of outrage in the latest protests, using the slogan "Ni una menos," which translates to "Not one less" — a demand for not one more victim of femicide. READ MORE
Cafe Tacvba Refuses to Play Hit Song to Protest Gender Violence
Given the recent spotlight on femicide in Latin America, the band has decided to stop playing "La Ingrata," a song that ends with the murder of a woman. READ MORE
Latin America Hip Hop Unites Against Femicide, Gender Violence
The choice to focus on gender issues comes amid another challenging year for women's rights activists, with a series of femicide cases sparking outrage across the continent. READ MORE
Jamaica's Tambourine Army Fights Gender Violence, Rape Culture
Women took to the street in Kingston to launch a movement to combat rape culture as women across the Caribbean rise up against gender violence. READ MORE
'Every 30 Hours' an Argentine Woman Dies: Documentary
Every 30 hours, a woman is killed in Argentina with almost 3,000 women killed in total since 2008, when the organization Casa del Encuentro started to monitor femicides. READ MORE