Conflicts & War

Latin Americans demand end to violence against women in day of rallies

Santiago/San Salvador, Nov 25 (efe-epa).- Protesters around Latin America on Wednesday took to the streets to demand an end to gender violence and femicide on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

At least 4,640 women were victims of femicide in Latin America in 2019, an increase of 31.5 percent over the previous year, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reported Wednesday.

The countries with the highest rates of femicides per 100,000 women are Honduras (6.2), El Salvador (3.3) and the Dominican Republic (2.7), although in absolute terms they are Brazil (1,941) and Mexico (983), according to the institution.

In Santiago, one year after becoming a global feminist anthem, black-clad protesters performed “A rapist in your path,” by the group Las Tesis, in front of the theater of the state University of Chile.

“The viralization of the intervention revealed that patriarchy and sexist violence are a global problem and that the solutions, therefore, must also be global,” the group from the port city of Valparaíso told EFE.

“If we don’t worry about ourselves, no one else is going to do it. It is important to stay together, in communication, in dialog, to make the resistance and the social changes we need,” added Las Tesis.

Made up of Dafne Valdés, Sibila Sotomayor, Paula Cometa and Lea Cáceres, the group has given renewed strength to the Chilean feminist movement and was recently included by Time magazine on its list of the 100 most influential people of the year.

The Chilean Network Against Violence Towards Women called a march prior to the Las Tesis performance nearby in the Plaza Italia.

“We are the ones who have warned and faced the increase in sexist violence, unemployment and care tasks in homes and health services. The management of this social and health crisis has rested on our shoulders,” they said in a statement.

Salvadorans also joined in the global cry for justice for victims of gender violence. A group of women went to the various justice enforcement institutions in the country, including the Prosecutor’s Office, to demand investigation and punishment of those responsible for the murders of women.

Another group toured one of the main streets of San Salvador and then paid homage to the victims at the Monument to the Constitution, in an event that included chants, slogans and a performance.

“Enough of fear, humiliation, abuse and deaths (…) We want each other alive,” the participants shouted together. Black candles were also lit as a sign of mourning and relatives of some of the victims shared their testimonies.

El Salvador is considered by Amnesty International one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. According to the Feminist Network Against Violence Towards Women, between January and in November of this year, so far there have been 88 femicides.

In Mexico City, groups of mothers, relatives and victims of gender violence marched from the Monument to the Revolution to the National Palace.

Protesters attempted to jump over and tear down the fences set up by the authorities, who fought back in altercations that left at least one woman injured.

“Misogynistic Mexico,” “We are not hysterical, we are historical” and “Wear yourself out looking for the faces of the murderers, not ours,” were some of the slogans displayed by the protesters.

International organizations estimate that in Mexico an average of 10 women are killed every day. The country registered 1,012 femicides last year, according to the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection.

Women carried pink crosses to symbolize the dead and photographs of some of the victims to demand justice in a country where more than 50 percent of femicides and almost 90 percent of homicides are not resolved.

In Colombia, where at least 386 women were murdered in the first half of this year, according to a study on gender violence released Wednesday by the country’s vice presidency, protesters raised their voices to say “not one less.”

“We are demanding in each of the parts of the country that they stop violating and killing us because we are women. To date we continue with a quarantine where everything stops, but violence against women does not stop,” Laura Torres, spokeswoman for the 25N feminist movement, told EFE.

Related Articles

Back to top button