HomeNewsBriefGuatemala to Tackle Femicide With New Task Force
BRIEF

Guatemala to Tackle Femicide With New Task Force

GENDER AND CRIME / 26 JAN 2012 BY EDWARD FOX EN

Guatemalan President Otto Perez announced the creation of a new task force to combat the country’s high rate of murders of women.

The new unit against "femicide" will be coordinated by former prosecutor Mirna Carrera, and will aim to reduce the number of femicides by 25 per cent this year, reported Univision.

In 2011, Guatemala saw roughly 700 women killed, making it the second most dangerous country in Latin America for women.

Authorities also announced the creation of a separate force to counter kidnappings in Guatemala. This brings the total number of special task forces to five since Perez was inaugurated on January 14, with others created to combat extortion, vehicle theft and “sicarios,” or assasins.

InSight Crime Analysis

Perez faces a huge battle in reducing Guatemala’s femicide rates. Since 2000 there have been 5,000 cases of femicide in the country. Guatemala passed a law in 2008 that formally recognizes femicide as a crime within its own right, covering both physical and psychological elements of abuse to women. However, this has done little to reduce impunity rates, with a reported 98 per cent of criminals in femicide cases walking free.

One problem the special task force may have to consider is the high rate of femicides which result from domestic violence, which frequently receives fewer attention and resources compared to other types of crimes. For example, a report by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) showed that between January and August 2008, 61 per cent of femicides were the end result of domestic violence.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ELITES AND CRIME / 25 JUL 2021

The dismissal of Juan Francisco Sandoval, Guatemala's leading anti-corruption prosecutor who has since fled the country, has drawn condemnation at…

COCAINE / 3 AUG 2021

An anti-narcotics operation in western Guatemala has shed further light on how families involved in local politics can play a…

ELITES AND CRIME / 5 AUG 2021

Before the firing of Juan Francisco Sandoval, Guatemala’s top anti-corruption prosecutor, Attorney General Consuelo Porras pressured him to curtail investigations…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.