de7dab0346f86f380e7e6216_pa2844c.jpg Paul Lachine

The Drug-War Femicides

It is increasingly dangerous to be a woman in Mexico and most of Central America, where women are being murdered with alarming frequency – a byproduct of the "war" on drug trafficking. Unfortunately, none of the initiatives to reduce the rate of femicide proposes steps that would end the war that is fueling the violence.

BARCELONA – The number of women murdered is increasing in most of Central America and Mexico. In some countries, such as Honduras, the increase is four times that of men. Moreover, many of these murders are committed with extreme violence – sexual savagery, torture, and mutilations – by perpetrators (often involved in organized crime) acting with a high degree of impunity.

In countries like Chile, Argentina, and Costa Rica, where overall levels of violence are lower, the murders of women are usually committed with less violence, by partners or ex-partners in the context of “domestic abuse.”

In Latin America, all of these crimes are known as “femicides”: murders of women precisely for being women. Cases associated with domestic violence are treated leniently by courts; in some countries, jealousy or the absence of previous convictions can reduce the punishment. Those committed by strangers, often with intense cruelty – and often linked to organized-crime groups such as the Central American maras – rarely end up in court at all.

We hope you're enjoying Project Syndicate.

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Subscribe

or

Register for FREE to access two premium articles per month.

Register

Support High-Quality Commentary

For more than 25 years, Project Syndicate has been guided by a simple credo: All people deserve access to a broad range of views by the world's foremost leaders and thinkers on the issues, events, and forces shaping their lives. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty, that mission is more important than ever – and we remain committed to fulfilling it.

But there is no doubt that we, like so many other media organizations nowadays, are under growing strain. If you are in a position to support us, please subscribe now.

As a subscriber, you will enjoy unlimited access to our On Point suite of long reads and book reviews, Say More contributor interviews, The Year Ahead magazine, the full PS archive, and much more. You will also directly support our mission of delivering the highest-quality commentary on the world's most pressing issues to as wide an audience as possible.

By helping us to build a truly open world of ideas, every PS subscriber makes a real difference. Thank you.

Subscribe Now

https://prosyn.org/Wwx9cZU