Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Told of Women Murdered

Women’s organisations from countries across Latin America told the Inter-American Commission of their concern over the growing number of murders committed against women in the region and the authorities’ lack of effective response in investigating such cases.

The representatives submitted a report to the IACHR on feminicide in Latin America. The report is a compilation of information on the extent of the problem. They reported that violence against women is commonplace and often results in violent murder and even torture, mutilation, and sexual violence for gender-associated reasons. They also referred to the lack of official statistics that document the number of women who have been murdered in each country. They said this highlights the indifference of States to the problem and contributes to the invisibility of the situation.

The organisations identified some common elements of the problem in the different countries such as the lesser value which is placed on women’s lives. They pointed out that the lack of efficient investigations, prevention policies and sanction of those responsible, in addition to the tolerance of authorities to such violence, have created a climate of impunity surrounding the crimes.

The lack of efficient investigations into the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, was denounced as typical of this impunity. And, in the context of the armed conflict in Colombia, women’s bodies are used as war booty and to humiliate the enemy. They reported that “in Colombia, every six days a woman is killed at the hands of her partner or ex-partner,” whilst in Guatemala a total of 2170 women were murdered between the year 2000 and to February 2006.

In Bolivia, the number of cases of women who are murdered that are reported in the media is much greater than the number of cases that are reported to the judicial authorities.

The organisations also protested against the obstacles that female victims of violence and / or their families experience in the justice system. They insisted that the inefficiency of this system, which is reflected in the fact that confessions are extracted under torture, is evidence of the State’s unwillingness to address the issue.

The report points out that discrimination constitutes an obstacle that affects access to justice. This discrimination manifests itself in various ways, for example, attempts by administrative and judicial authorities to minimise the problem by not responding seriously to complaints and failing to investigate, prosecute and sanction those responsible. In this way they “revictimise” victims by giving the impression that they are responsible for their murder by showing more interest in their private life than in shedding light on the facts and in sanctioning the perpetrators.

The representatives reminded the IACHR that despite the fact that most of the States have ratified the international treaties which focus on combating violence against women, such as the Bélem do Pará Convention, few have taken measures to respect and apply the principles in practice.

The Commission expressed interest in hearing in more detail about the barriers that women face in accessing the justice system. In the 124th Session, the IACHR has appointed Commissioner Víctor Abramovich as Rapporteur for Women. However, an independent Rapporteurship on the rights of women is being created in the IACHR which will be filled by an expert on the subject. The IACHR is also about to publish a report on the situation of women and armed conflict in Colombia.

At the close of the hearing, the organisations requested that the IACHR establish a permanent monitoring system which obliges States to implement feminicide-prevention programmes.

Representatives from the following organisations participated in the hearing: Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (CEJIL), la Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos, A.C. (CMDPDH), el Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer (CLADEM), la Federación Internacional de Derechos Humanos (FIDH), Kuña Aty (Paraguay), DEMUS (Perú), Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir México, el Centro de Promoción de la Mujer, Gregoria Apaza (Bolivia), la Red Nacional de Trabajadoras/es de la Información y Comunicación, RED ADA (Bolivia), el Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH - Guatemala), Sisma Mujer (Colombia), la Red de la No violencia contra las Mujeres de Guatemala, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and PATH.