Americas Quarterly

123 femicides per one million women. Colombia ( 70), El Salvador ( 66), Bolivia ( 43), Dominican Republic ( 37), Mexico ( 24), and the United States ( 22) followed. 2 More recent figures from Guatemala showed that in 2006 two women, on average, were murdered each day.

Violence against women and girls not only costs lives, but stunts social and economic opportunities.

Globally, up to 50 percent of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16. A report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in 2003 the costs of domestic violence in the United States exceeded $5.8 billion per year, with $4.1 billion going to direct medical and health care services and $1.8 billion the result of absenteeism. 3

There have been encouraging legislative responses around the world. A 2006 study by the United Nations Secretary General on all forms of violence against women reported that 89 countries have passed some legislation on domestic violence, and a growing number of countries have launched national plans of action. However, in 102 countries there are no specific legal provisions against domestic violence, and in at least 53 nations marital rape is not a prosecutable offense. 4

Over the last 30 years, most Latin American governments have implemented policies and passed legislation to address the issue. Many of these changes are guided by a regional legislative instrument, the Inter-American Convention of Belem do Para (1994), which recommends that states amend their penal codes to impose penalties for violence against women and adopt measures that prevent perpetrators from harassing, intimidating or threatening victims.

The convention also urges states
to establish effective legal proce-
dures for victims, including access
to restitution and reparations. More
recently, since 2005, six Latin Amer-
public sphere. It has shifted
the traditional concept of intra-
family violence toward a broader
understanding that women
are victims of violence in the
workplace, in the streets, in
conflict situations, and in public
transportation. Nevertheless, the
incremental advances have been
mainly linked to the judiciary, the
provision of services to victims
of violence, capacity building
of police, and improvement of
services in the health sector. 5
Much more needs to be done.
One of the main challenges is the
failure of states to create a climate
of justice—a problem that leads to
alarming levels of impunity. For
example, in Guatemala, of the 2,920
homicides of women registered in
the last five years, there have been
only 184 detentions, leaving 94
percent of cases unsolved.

One key reason for the failure of many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (and particularly in Central America) to tackle the ican countries have focused on sec-ond-generation legislation, which has broadened the focus to address violence against women in the areas of migration, trafficking and conflict and crisis situations.

In Guatemala, of the 2,920
homicides of women
registered in the last
five years, there have
been only 184 detentions,
leaving 94 percent of
cases unsolved.

problem in an integrated way is the lack of coherence between the legislative initiatives and the culture and practices of the legal and judicial system. When the concept and laws for gender equality and the protection of the rights of women have not been incorporated into the daily practice of judicial personnel, legitimate cases of violence can often be dismissed by judges.

POLICY UPDATE

Although mounting international and national efforts to eradicate violence against women testify to the progress in raising awareness among policymakers and communities, an important next step is to address the issue at its cultural roots and across institutions and sectors. This requires a coherent response that includes legislation, service provision and prevention. A long-term response involves addressing the larger challenges of gender inequality and women’s empowerment through education.

Gradual recognition of this larger context has increased. In 2008, UN Part of that effort will require persuading governments to make it a higher priority.

Nadine Gasman is the senior manager of the UN Secretary General’s UNi TE Campaign to End Violence against Women for Latin America and the Caribbean. Gabriela Alvarez is a programme specialist at the Americas and the Caribbean section at UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women.