Violence against women in Guatemala
According to a 2002 report by the Small Arms Survey, Guatemala has the third highest rate of femicide in the world, behind only El Salvador and Jamaica.
[6] Rape culture and victim blaming are the tactics that go along with machismo, and both men and women largely agree with the misogynistic tendencies that have survived for so long.
[8] For instance, Topacio Reynoso Pacheco, a 16 year old activist, was shot and killed by representatives of the Guatemalan government after forming a group advocating against mining within her community.
There are about 10,000 cases of reported rape per year, but the total number is likely much higher because of under-reporting due to social stigma.
According to Doctors without Borders, "Survivors [of sexual violence] are stigmatized and they cannot easily find treatment in Guatemala yet.
[13] According to photo activist Linda Forsell,[14] most young girls face expulsion from school if they are visibly pregnant.
Common health problems that victims of sexual assault in Guatemala often suffer include HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancy, Hepatitis B, syphilis, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhoea.
International organizations like Doctors Without Borders try to fill the gap in Guatemala's health care and provide assistance to victims of sexual violence.
In 2007, Doctors Without Borders opened a clinic in Guatemala City that provides comprehensive care for such victims.
[21] The organization is also implementing educational programs in Guatemala City that aim to end the prevalence of sexual violence there.
[22] They have published papers on the ineffectiveness of Guatemala's Law Against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence Against Women, passed in 2008.
[25] Amerindian (indigenous) women in Guatemala face high levels of violence by the military, and state authorities.
In 2016, a court in Guatemala ordered two former military officers to pay over $1m (£710,000) to 11 indigenous women whom they held as sex slaves during the civil war.
[39] Guatemala is ranked the 25th most violent country in the world and Guatemalan police have a reputation for being non-responsive to the high crime rates.
[40] As in other countries where the population does not trust the authorities, people in Guatemala often enforce informal 'justice' by subjecting to violence and even murdering individuals whom they believe have violated moral standards.
For example, in 2015, a 16-year-old girl was lynched and burned alive by a mob after reportedly being accused of being part of a group that killed a taxi driver.
[41][42] After years of violence, dictatorship, and conflict, Guatemala's public institutions are ineffective, including its justice system.
Lack of funding has made the law-enforcement departments ineffective and, seeing how unlikely it is to be charged, criminals are encouraged to continue normalizing this widespread, unchecked violence.
[51] Despite the introduction of these laws over the past decade, data shows a continued persistence in attacks against women.
Not only this, but the Guatemalan congress’s approval of Ley 5272 on International Women’s Day of 2022 can even be deemed regressive, as the policy would have illegalized abortion and marriage amongst members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Despite these efforts made by Guatemala's government, the number of women who experience gendered violence persists.
The ineffectiveness of Procurador de los Derechos Humanos is a result of a multitude of factors including the weakness of the justice system, a lack of clarity surrounding laws made regarding gendered violence, and the absence of free institutions that would aid victims.
[52] Despite the intentions of enacting Procurador de los Derechos Humanos, the full potential of its efficiency has not yet been reached.
More recently, social groups advocating for gender equality in Guatemala helped reform the age at which a girl is able to legally be married.
The leaders of both The Angélica Fuentes Foundation and Girl Up stated that their main goal of pushing for a higher marriage age was to aid the children in Guatemala.
The leader of The Angélica Fuentes Foundation states that it is her hope that this initiative promotes gender equality and an increase in opportunity for young girls in Guatemala, as well as in other Latin American countries.
