WACC - The struggle against feminicide in Guatemala

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> News feature...

**"Walking with us and feeling what we feel"**

**The struggle against feminicide in Guatemala**

Killing a woman simply because she is a woman is a tragic phenomenon,
unfathomable and beyond imagination. But this is a reality faced by
hundreds of women in Guatemala and other countries in Central America.

More than 4,500 women have been killed since the year 2000 in
Guatemala alone. The majority of the victims were between the ages of
16 and 30, according to the latest publication by CEDEPCA (Centro
Evangélico de Estudios Pastorales en Centro América) a partner
network of WACC (World Association for Christian Communication). About
700 women were killed in 2010, as feminicide continues to take its
toll.

WACC President, Dennis Smith, has lived and worked in the country for
over 30 years. He describes feminicide as an â??extremely troubling
phenomenon.â??

â??This year so far more than 700 women have been killed, not because
they have been caught in the crossfire of widespread drug violence,
nor because they have been targeted for political persecution. They
have been killed because they are women,â?? says Smith. (watch an
excerpt of the interview on the WACC website
(http://www.waccglobal.org/component/content/article/2517:walking-with-us-a 
nd-feeling-what-we-feel.html)

A report by the Council on Hemispheric Affairs Research Associate
(COHA) Suzana Shepard-Durini indicates that the current feminicide
crusade in Guatemala â??has its roots in an unjust culture that views
women as objects in which to instill fear, terror and extreme
submission.â??

According to the report, Guatemalaâ??s recent history involves a good
deal of frustration and bitterness over past injustices which live on
in succeeding generations.

â??Armed groups, especially those in rival gangs, release their anger
through the one aspect that unequivocally connects the generations and
is far from being a stranger to this county: violence. The mode of
retaliation towards the injustices that have characterized Guatemalan
society has led to a steady deadly dosage of violent actions against
womenâ??. (Read the report
here:http://www.coha.org/feminicide-in-guatemala-a-link-between-past-and-pr 
esent/
)

And in the CEDEPCA publication titled Guatemala in Context - 20th
edition ­ February, 2010, feminicide is defined as â??a political
term that describes the responsibility borne by both male perpetrators
and the state, including the judicial system, for these murders, for
the toleration of ongoing acts of violence, and for the failure to
ensure the safety of its female citizens.â??

According to the publication, Guatemala's 36-year civil war resulted
in the rape, torture, and murder of tens of thousands of women.
Violence against women became a weapon of war. â??During the conflict
thousands of men were trained to commit acts of gendered violence;
they returned to civilian life without receiving any orientation that
might challenge such brutal trainingâ??.

The publication further criticizes the government of Guatemala for its
indifference and laxity in addressing the phenomenon. â??Government
officials tend to attribute violence against women to gangs?While
gangs sometimes use feminicide as an initiation rite; experts note
that the modus operandi of most perpetrators closely resembles the
torture methods used in counter-insurgency campaigns during the war,
methods that are not typical of gangsâ??, reports CEDEPCA.

WACC together with CEDEPCA are raising awareness about feminicide and
impunity through training workshops and educating women about their
legal rights and how to manage violent situations.

Several women who have participated in the workshops live in Cobán,
in the province of Alta Verapaz, central Guatemala. They share their
stories of struggle and hope below:

América says; â??I suffered psychological, physical and emotional
violence at the hands of my spouse. But now I have learned a lot and I
have understood that I am worth and I can move forward and that I
cannot continue to be a victim. These workshops have been a great help
to me, in my personal growth and I have supported other women who are
facing similar circumstances.â??

Onely says â??We thank God for the support WACC and CEDEPCA has given
us. If it was not for their support, we would not have known the laws
in our country. This has helped me personally and also my women
friends who have suffered violence and did not know that it was
against the law. I suffered a lot of violence in my own home and if I
had known about the laws, I would have fought against the violence.
Thanks to WACC and CEDEPCA I have been able to change. And also I am
not as abused as I was beforeâ??.

Sandra says â??The life of women here is marked by much pain, much
suffering, a lot of abuse, but thanks to these workshops we have felt
that we are not alone, that there are people who are holding our
hands, walking with us and feeling what we feel...We did not even know
that what we were suffering was violence. We did not know that the
suffering had a name. We thought it was normal life. Now we know we
have the possibility of approaching the authorities and that there is
a legal framework that prohibits violence against women. We are no
longer ignorantâ??.

(Watch videos and read more stories on the WACC
website:http://www.waccglobal.org/component/content/article/2517:walking-wi 
th-us-and-feeling-what-we-feel.html
)

The workshops coordinator, Rev. Delia Leal, expressed concern about
inadequate coverage of violence against women in the local media. She
criticized the media for stereotyping the murders and for failing to
sensitize the population against this social phenomenon.

â??The news media splash headlines such as â??woman murderedâ ?? and
then give statistics. But a paragraph later they will condition the
crime against women saying, for example, that the woman was murdered
because she was out at 1 a.m or because she had a tattoo. So, although
the media want to sensitize the population against this social
phenomenon, they blow it up by falling into stereotypes and accusing
the victims saying that it is somehow their fault that they were
murdered,â?? says Leal. (Watch video excerpt here:
http://www.waccglobal.org/component/content/article/2517:walking-with-us-an 
d-feeling-what-we-feel.html
)

However, with an increasing number of women in key editorial positions
in the past few years - especially in the print media ­ the media
are significantly challenging the stereotypes and representation of
women in the news, says Smith.

â??There are two major dailies; El Periódico and Prensa Libre, w here
there are women journalists - both as investigative reporters and also
as editors. They are making it very clear in their coverage that
feminicide is a social issue that reflects on the rule of law and on
the dignity of the country and it needs to be far more seriously
studied by the government, by the security forces and by the courts
systemâ??, says the WACC President.

According to the CEDEPCA report, the Guatemalan Congress passed a law
against feminicide and other forms of violence against women in 2008,
recognizing misogyny, machismo and gender bias as main reasons for
gender inequality and violence against women in Guatemala. â??The law
provides mechanisms for eliminating violence against women but much is
yet to be doneâ??, says the report.

Shepard-Durini, in the COHA report, argues that â??Guatemala needs its
predictably timorous government to act more boldly when it comes to
the protection of basic rights, and to be more highly involved in the
advancement of womenâ??s rights.â??

WACC General Secretary, the Rev. Karin Achtelstetter, says, â??I am
encouraged by the womenâ??s spirit of hope and vigor as they struggle
to fight against feminicideâ??.

She pledged WACCâ??s unwavering support and collaboration with members
and partner networks in the country to continue empowering women to
fight all forms of violence.

Read more about feminicide in an earlier interview with WACC president
here:
http://www.waccglobal.org/component/content/article/1520:action-against-fem 
icide-in-guatemala-an-interview-with-wacc-president-dennis-smith.html

(These interviews were interpreted by Dennis Smith, WACC President)

> For more information, contact:

> Terry Mutuku: MT@waccglobal.org

> Communication Officer and Web Manager, WACC