Las Tunas.- The elimination of violence against women and girls, protected by a legislative system that guarantees security and gender equality, is one of the issues considered priority today and enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was published just in December This year, 10 turns 75 years old and has become one of the most revolutionary global engagements in the world.
In 2022, at least 4,500 women were victims of femicide in 26 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. This emerges from the latest data submitted by official organizations to the Gender Equality Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean (OIG) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). This equates to one woman being violently killed every two hours in the region because of her gender.
According to the latest report from ECLAC, this social problem occupies an important place in the 2030 Agenda and points out that it is currently not possible to determine a trend in terms of femicide rates in the region due to the differences in individual countries are small and do not reflect a sustained dynamic of increase or decrease.
What can be confirmed, the United Nations (UN) regional body emphasizes, is that femicide violence continues in the region despite greater public awareness of the issue, legislative progress, government response and advances in measurement.
“We never tire of repeating it: Latin America and the Caribbean have a duty to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.” “It is unacceptable that in our countries more than four thousand women and girls every year murdered for reasons of gender,” said José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, executive director of ECLAC, as part of the Day for No Violence Against Women, which ends December 10, Human Rights Day.
“Femicidal violence can be prevented through comprehensive and vigorous government measures. “Deep changes are urgently needed to ensure that women and girls in our region can lead a life free of violence,” emphasized Salazar-Xirinachs.
In the Scourge's most recent evaluation of the 19 countries and territories in Latin America that reported the number of femicides, femicides or violent deaths of women based on gender in 2022, the highest rates were recorded in Honduras (6.0 per 100,000 women) . ), Dominican Republic (2.9) and El Salvador and Uruguay (1.6). The lowest values (i.e. less than 1 victim per 100,000 women) were found in Puerto Rico and Peru (0.9), Colombia (0.8), Costa Rica (0.7), Nicaragua (0.5), Chile (0 .4) and Cuba (0.3) observed).
The report warns that 46 women were victims of fatal gender-based violence in the Caribbean, across seven countries and territories that provided information for 2022. Most cases occurred in Trinidad and Tobago (43).
Femicide is the most extreme expression of inequality, discrimination and multiple forms of violence against women and girls. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), on average one in three women in the region have been or are experiencing physical and/or sexual violence by a perpetrator who was or is their partner, which poses a risk of fatal violence). This corresponds to 88 million women over the age of 15 in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In turn, child, early and forced marriages and partnerships are a harmful practice and a manifestation of persistent and widespread gender-based violence in this region of the world, affecting one in five girls.
In seven countries reporting to ECLAC, at least 400 girls, boys, adolescents and other dependent people lost their mother or caregiver to femicide in 2022. In this context, it is important to highlight that only eight Latin American countries have provided concrete reparations. Measures to support people dependent on victims of femicide represent a fundamental response in developing a comprehensive approach.
In order to prevent feminicidal violence, it is also necessary to strengthen data on the presence of previous complaints of violence or precautionary measures that make it possible to assess the risk and act against it, thus avoiding violent deaths based on gender.
“States in the region need to increase their budgetary allocations and invest to strengthen policies against gender-based violence with new strategies to respond to the different manifestations of violence, such as gender-based violence in digital media,” warns ECLAC.
It also emphasizes that in order to transition to a caring society, it is necessary to transform patriarchal, discriminatory and violent cultural patterns. The Commission urges governments in the region to increase their efforts to improve registration and information systems as well as medical, psychosocial and legal support services.
In Cuba, the state and laws have taken a forceful approach to protecting women's rights and combating gender-based violence. Although significant progress has currently been made in protecting women's rights Work continues to consolidate the successes achieved and to effectively counteract all forms of gender-based violence.