GUATEMALAN WOMEN'S GROUP REPORTS DECLINE IN

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 002486 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN AND DRL/AWH DOL FOR CROMERO, PCHURCH, AND LBUFFO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KJUS EAID SNAR KCRM KDEM GT SUBJECT: GUATEMALAN WOMEN'S GROUP REPORTS DECLINE IN "FEMICIDE" SINCE 2004 ¶1. Summary: According to a recent study by Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres (GGM),only 11 percent of the total number of murders of women in Guatemala should be labeled "femicide," which GGM considers the most extreme manifestation of violence against women. Based on investigations conducted over a period of six years, GGM found a decline in the total number of such cases over the past two years, while National Civil Police data indicate an increase in the total number of homicides, including an increase in the total number of women murdered. A regional report on "femicide," due out in May 2007, will incorporate GGM's findings and highlight the problem, which has generated much debate within the NGO community. End summary. ¶2. In a December 19 meeting with Poloff, Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres (GGM) Coordinator Giovana Lemus explained the mission of GGM and differentiated "femicide" from other types of female murders. Founded in 1988 as one of the first women's organizations to combat all forms of violence and discrimination against women in Guatemalan society, GGM defends and promotes women's rights through public outreach, political lobbying, and investigation. In recent years, with the availability of national murder statistics segregated by gender beginning in 2001, it has focused on what has become commonly known as "femicide," targeted killing of women based on their gender. Since 2000, GGM has actively investigated cases of violent deaths of women in Guatemala, compiled statistics, published bulletins, and lobbied to criminalize femicide. ¶3. A recent study conducted by GGM covering six years (from 2000 to the first trimester of 2006) classified only 11 percent of the total number of murders of women in Guatemala as "femicide." Of the 2,318 cases reported during the six years, 266 were identified by women's organizations as "femicide." The study revealed a decline in the number of such cases over the past two years, from 84 in 2004, to 48 in 2005 to 26 in 2006. (Note: GGM is not certain at this point as to the reason for this dramatic decline during the two-year period. End note.) The majority of the victims were between 11 and 20 years of age. Investigations conducted by GGM since 2000 indicate that 126 of the cases were connected to intra-family violence, while 62 were related to acts of sexual aggression. ¶4. In comparison, National Civil Police data indicate an increase in the total number of homicides, including an increase in the total number of women murdered. Data show a total of 5009 murders, including 485 female murders (9.68 percent of total murders) in 2006 (January - October),with an estimated end-of-year figure of 6,000-6,200 for total murders and 580-600 for female murders. In 2005, there were 5,747 murders, including 552 female murders (9.60 percent of total murders),an increase from 4,519 murders in 2004, including 509 female murders (11.26 percent of total murders). (Note: In a January 2006 meeting with embassy officials, Mario Polanco, General Coordinator of Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo (GAM),reported that GAM had identified 50 gender-based murders in 2005 as "femicide" under GAM criteria. End note.) ¶5. Lemus noted that GGM does not classify all female homicides as "femicide." She described "femicide" as the specific, intentional violent killing of women, specific in terms of the circumstances in which the killings occur, the particulars of the perpetrators and their victims, and the relationship between them, including the causes or motives and manifestations of the brutality of the killings. In cases identified by GGM as "femicide," evidence indicated mutilation, torture, strangulation, slashing, or other violence prior to the victim's death. In addition, femicide victims were generally killed in the morning, while other female murder victims were attacked at night. In many cases, investigators found a history of domestic violence between the victim and perpetrator and evidence that the victim had filed an accusation of sexual threat, harassment, or assault against the perpetrator, and had an intimate relationship with him. ¶6. Not all femicide, however, occurs in the context of an intimate relationship. According to Lemus, femicide can be categorized into three types: "intimate femicide," when women are killed by men with whom they co-habitated or had a familial relationship; "non-intimate femicide," when women are killed by men with whom they did not have an intimate relationship but with whom there may have been prior incidents of sexual violence, and "femicide by connection," in which women are murdered in the line of fire while intervening in the murder of another woman. ¶7. The suspected murderers were generally assumed to be gang members or involved in organized crime activities, and in many cases investigations were abandoned under the assumption that the female victim was murdered because she was a gang member, narcotrafficker, or trafficked person. Lemus acknowledged that while some victims were linked to narcotrafficking or other criminal activity, they were not killed because of their illicit activity but by violent partners. However, in Guatemala, according to Lemus, there is a tendency among some groups to view femicide as an environmental phenomenon with ties to narcotrafficking, gangs, and other forms of organized crime. They separate it from its true origin -- sexual violence against women -- and attribute it to the generalized violence in the country. In Lemus' view, such thinking contributes to the general perception that these killings are "normal" or less serious than other killings. ¶8. Lemus explained that "femicide" reflects the inequality, oppression, and exclusion of women in society and manifests itself in the context of sexual violence against women. It is a historic, sociological phenomenon that perpetuates power and control, particularly in patriarchal societies, and constitutes the most extreme form of violence against women. Women at greatest risk are those in violent relationships or those who seek to leave a relationship with a violent partner. ¶9. Comment: The concept of "femicide" is a relatively new and little understood sociological term in Guatemala. Some equate "femicide" with female homicide and view it in the context of the pervasive culture of violence and impunity that threatens human rights in Guatemala. Others, in particular women's organizations, regard it as the distinctly violent, targeted killing of women that reflect the power imbalance in Guatemala's patriarchal society. Organizations, such as GGM, that are at the forefront of highlighting the problem of violence against women, are striving to educate the public and seeking ways to combat femicide through political and legal channels. GGM's findings, which have not yet been published, will be incorporated into a Central American report on "femicide" due out in May 2007, which GGM hopes will shed more light on the issue. Despite gender-segregated national crime statistics, the magnitude of violence perpetrated against women in Guatemala and the identification of female homicide cases as "femicide" remain difficult to determine due to definitional ambiguities and the lack of official, consistently reliable information. ¶10. Comment Continued: The femicide issue should continue to be studied and addressed but it is only an element of a more basic and alarming problem: the overall increase in the rates of murder and violent crime in Guatemala. Derham