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. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article by Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey and Melanne Verveer in openDemocracy (Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey was attorney general of Guatemala from 2010 until 2014)

In order to effectively reduce female murders, Latin American nations must combat one of the leading causes of death for women—gender-based violence—whereby perpetrators target victims because of their gender and act in the context of unequal power relations between men and women.

Guatemala presents a case study of how innovative 24-hour courts and revised trainings for law enforcement can increase convictions related to gender-based violence and ultimately reduce the number of female murders.

Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey
(Click on photo to enlarge)

Guatemala’s high female murder rate—9.1 murders for every 100,000 women between 2007 and 2012—is impacted by regional crime, drug trafficking, and gang violence. But at least half of female murders in Guatemala are femicides.

Guatemala was the first country to officially recognize femicide—the murder of a woman because of her gender—as a crime in 2008. Four years later, the country created a national database to record basic data on all cases of violent deaths of women. This database allowed the Attorney General’s office to identify weaknesses in the investigation of femicides and the gender-based violence that often precedes them, and subsequently to develop pilot programs to address crimes associated with violence against women before they escalated to murder.

Most notably, the Attorney General’s office and the Supreme Court of Justice collaborated in 2012 to establish a 24-hour court to handle urgent investigative measures required in gender violence crimes immediately. The court operated inside the Comprehensive Care Model (Modelo de Atención Integral) created in 2009, and offered a model of comprehensive services: forensic experts, police, psychologists, clinical physicians, and prosecutors were all brought together in a single space in Guatemala City to serve the survivors of gender-based violence.

In the Comprehensive Care Model, it was the institutions that revolved around women, rather than women having to travel to each institution or worse, having to choose between medical care and access to justice. The 24-hour court, one of the first in Latin America, immediately increased the number of protection measures and arrest warrants authorized, and led to an increase in the number of people sent to prison for violence against women and sexual exploitation.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

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At the same time, Guatemala also took efforts to address prejudicial or inadequate investigations, which limited women’s access to justice. The Attorney General’s office had found that officers in charge of gender-based violence investigations tended to blame the victim because of her way of dressing, her prior conduct, or her prior or family relationship with the perpetrator. It was common to hear “algo haría” (she must have done something) or “ella se lo buscó” (she was looking for it).

Investigators also failed to take account of the context of crime: they frequently neglected to inquire whether there had been prior acts or reports of violence against women or sexual violence concurrent with the murder, or whether the victim resided in an area where any criminal organization operated.

Further, violence against women was treated with little importance by judges. This translated into delays before evidence could be collected or an arrest warrant or a search warrant was issued; these cases were the last in line on the agenda of court hearings.

In response, Guatemala began to offer specialized training for prosecutorial officers investigating cases of sexual violence, violence against women, and femicides. Once a victim approached the Attorney General’s office, she was made to feel protected. New instructions guided the investigations of intimate femicide, sexual femicide, and femicide in the context of a criminal group or organization, especially gangs or organizations associated with drug trafficking.

In the year following these innovations, the convictions for female murders in Guatemala rose from 55 to 91. This increase in convictions translated into far fewer cases, from 393 (178 resulting in death) in 2010 to 193 (103 resulting in death) in 2013 in Guatemala City.

The trend in convictions and cases was not observed at the national level, where the model has yet to be fully implemented. This must be done: Guatemala must expand 24-hour courts and trainings for law enforcement around the nation, and throughout the region. This deployment should be accompanied by non-criminal measures for preventing violence against women, such as educational policies and those aimed at greater gender equality in economic and political matters.

Many survivors of gender-based violence in Guatemala have told us that, today, they know justice is possible in Guatemala. While Guatemala is still struggling to effectively combat violence against women, these localized interventions present a promising model for expanding women’s access to justice in the region.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article in El Nuevo Diario (translated by CPNN)

Karla Miranda, a third year psychology student, speaking about violence against women, said that aggressors should be evaluated by psychologists to understand the cause of their attitude. “Violent behavior often originates from childhood, so it is important that we know the history of these people in order to assess the origins of violence,” she said.

This was said yesterday at the fair called Growing a Culture of Peace, held at the University Cátolica (Unica), in the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, with the aim of promoting values ​​in society and raising awareness on this topic.

Rosa Salgado, with microphone, speaks before students of the Catholic University. (Photo: Melvin Vargas)
(Click on photo to enlarge)

Johnny Hodgson, career coordinator for the campus, explained that the fair was developed with different talks, information stands and cultural events so that students and experts could address the issues of violence.

“We did not just want to be part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, but rather to do something more integral, where everyone is involved. In addition, we promote spaces to come and share how to face, understand and avoid violence, “said Hodgson.

Karla Miranda added that “another important aspect is that in raising children, it is necessary to educate in values, so that the children grow up with the value to not violate either girls or children. That is why this topic must be addressed at the level of the family. ”

Miranda recalled that in 2013 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared violence against women as a public health problem and in that sense added that psychological violence is the one that most affects and causes the most damage.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

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Ana Hidalgo Mendoza, Miranda’s colleague, commented that violence is a cycle that comes from the home. “The child who sees that his father violates his mother will grow up with that profile, believing that it is normal behavior, and in the case of the girls, they will believe that they must be submissive and when they are raped, they will believe that it is ok” “He added.

VALUE FORMATION

Rosa Salgado, representative of the disabled with the Office of the Attorney General for Human Rights (PDDH), addressed violence against women with disabilities.

Salgado said that a solution is the formation in values ​​that must be started from the home and the different spaces of society and education, “so that in this way we appropriate the understanding of human rights for ourselves. and that we make use of the legal instruments “.

“To the extent that we recognize how we can help and improve the quality of life of a person with a disability, conditions will be improved by preventing violence,” she said.

SCHOOL HARASSMENT

Eliuth Martínez, a teacher at the Unica and a pedagogical advisor at the Directorate of Special Education at the Ministry of Education (Mined), commented that throughout the school year they continued to develop a non-bullying campaign, as this problem began to emerge in classrooms.

According to Martinez, since last year the campaign has trained 6,000 to 8,000 teachers.

“It was enough to have 1 to 3 cases for the Government to act immediately. Today we can say that we have good results from the center and the delegates and even a free telephone line was set up to report these types of violence,” added the teacher.

About 35% of all women will experience violence, either in or out of the couple, at some point in their lives, according to WHO data published in 2013.

Martinez recently attended a case of a visually impaired girl who was believed to experience bullying on the part of her colleagues, to which the Mined immediately acted in conjunction with the educational councils, investigated the case and began work not only with the teachers but also with the students and the school in general.

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Sistema Michoacan for Radio and Television (translation by CPNN)

Mexico City.- The director general of the Center for Studies on the Advancement of Women and Gender Equality (CEAMEG) of the Chamber of Deputies, Adriana Ceballos Hernández, said that violence against women harms society every day, and, although there are important advances, there is still much to be done.

In inaugurating the forum “For a culture of peace”, she emphasized that violence should be eliminated in the relations of women and men, inculcating in people the knowledge of rights from childhood, respecting political rights of gender and understanding that abuse affects everyone around, especially children.

She considers it necessary to promote a culture of harmony in all fields of action.

The director of Social Studies of the Position and Condition of Women and Gender Equality of CEAMEG, Judith Díaz Delgado, explained that their organization works mainly for the prevention of violence.

She said that “we live in a violent Mexico with an absence of peace, in which seven out of ten suffer some type of abuse, so we can not say that there is a culture of peace.”

Guadalupe Salas y Villagómez, director of Promotion and Training of Women and Equality, of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), said that the CNDH is dedicated to raising awareness of human rights, equality between women and men, as well as awareness about gender-based abuse.

Finally, Ana Paula Hernández Romano, founder of Proyecto Paz A.C, pointed out that Mexico is far down the list in the 140th place of nations for providing a state of well-being. Meanwhile, the National Survey of Victimization and Perception on Public Safety (ENVIPE) for 2016, indicates that most Mexicans perceive that the problem of violence and insecurity is even greater than the problem of poverty and unemployment.

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?