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Four ways to combat violence against women

by Anastasia Moloney | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Tuesday, 5 March 2013 09:48 GMT

Domestic and sexual violence is a daily reality for many women in Latin America and the Caribbean

BOGOTA (AlertNet) – Domestic and sexual violence is a daily reality for many women in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region is also known for its high rates of femicide – the gender-related killing of a woman by a man.

But there are tentative signs of progress. Tackling violence against women is now firmly on the political agenda in many countries across the region and it is becoming less of a taboo.

Over the past five years, numerous governments in Latin America and the Caribbean have introduced new laws and initiatives that seek to protect women who have suffered domestic and sexual violence and to make it easier for them to access justice. No matter how small, these are steps in the right direction.

There is still a big gap between laws in theory and their implementation on the ground. But regional governments and women’s rights groups are pushing forward innovative approaches that are gradually making inroads in combating violence against women.

The following are four promising initiatives and legislative changes, listed in no particular order, that are making a difference to the lives of women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Help under one roof

One-stop shops for women are sprouting up across the region, providing women with all types of services, often for free, in the same place.

One leading example is El Salvador’s ‘Women City’ centres where there are some 15 different state entities all under one roof.

At the centres women can get counselling, childcare, attend a job training workshop, get advice on getting a loan and file a police report on domestic violence. They also offer healthcare, with gynaecologists, doctors and dentists on hand.

Since opening in 2011, over 100,000 women have used the three Women City centres dotted across the Central America nation. More centres are in the pipeline.

One-stop shops save women time as it means they do not have to stand in long queues as they shuttle from one state entity to the next. And more importantly, the centres allow women to get legal and medical advice and support tailored to their needs in a safe environment.

Focus on the perpetrators of violence

When Colombia’s Antanus Mockus, a former presidential candidate and ex-mayor of Bogota, set about analysing the root causes of domestic violence, he came to the conclusion that jealousy was often the main reason why men beat up their wives and girlfriends.

So he decided the best way to tackle domestic violence was to help men deal with jealousy and perceived or real infidelity. This male focus was different to traditional efforts to combat domestic violence in Colombia that had generally prioritised caring for the victims.

In 2009, in the Colombian city of Barrancabermeja, Mockus set up a hotline, “Jealous Persons Anonymous,” through which psychologists and therapists provided counselling to victims. The hotline helped callers control their jealous rages and gave people a space to talk through problems in their relationships.

From April to December of 2009, 1,071 cases of domestic violence were reported in Barrancabermeja. Over the same period in 2010, that figure had fallen to 838, according to the official website of CorpoVisionarios, a think-tank founded by Mockus that is overseeing his campaign against domestic violence.

Mockus plans to roll out the initiative to another 10 municipalities and five cities across the country next year, including the tourist resort town of Cartagena.

Special femicide courts

Femicide is an acute problem in Central America and Mexico.

In Guatemala, for example, at least 4,400 women have been killed in the country since 2004, according to the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office.

It was only five years ago that Guatemala defined femicide as a specific crime, carrying a prison sentence of 25 to 50 years.

Since 2008, Guatemala has approved a number of laws and set up institutions to deal exclusively with femicides, from special courts and police task forces to a presidential commission on femicide.

Guatemala’s special femicide courts have several noteworthy features.

Most judges are female and have received some sort of training on gender violence and law. At the court, there is a crèche where children are looked after while their mothers testify. There is also a clinic where women can receive counselling and support from social workers.

Since 2010, femicide trials in Guatemala have taken place in three special courts created exclusively to deal with femicide and other forms of violence against women. More are planned.

There is still a long way to go to bring down high impunity rates – around 90 percent – involving femicide cases. But femicide courts are a step in the right direction and there is a glimmer of hope, local rights groups say.

In 2011, femicide courts handed down judgments in 335 of the 935 cases brought before them, according to the Organisation of American States (OAS) and nearly half of all judicial sentences in Guatemala were issued by these courts in 2011.

Women-only police stations

Latin America leads the way in women-only police stations and 13 countries in the region have adopted the initiative, according to U.N. Women.

Brazil opened the world’s first women-only police station in 1985 in Sao Paulo. Today, there are over 475 women and or female units in police stations throughout the country.

Women’s police stations in the region vary according to what cases they can handle. Some only deal with domestic violence cases and not with sexual assault, others handle both. Most are staffed by female police trained to deal with domestic and sexual violence and they can refer women on to medical care and counselling.

Research shows that where women are represented in the police force, women are more likely to report incidences of sexual assault to the police because female police officers are generally considered to be more receptive and supportive to victims, U.N Women says.

According to 2010 academic research cited by U.N. Women, “the greatest contribution of women police stations has been to make violence against women more visible as a public sphere issue, a crime, and a collective matter.”

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