Loading...
"The Most Dangerous Place in the World to be a Woman"�: The Roots of Feminicide in Guatemala
Bryce, Ailsa
Bryce, Ailsa
Citations
Altmetric:
Contributor
Photographer
Author
Artist
Editor
Advisor
Keywords
Honors papers, Latin American Studies, Student research, Text
Local ID
Collections
Abstract
Feminicide, the killing of women because they are women within a culture of
impunity, is prevalent in Central America and one of the most shocking human rights
violations of our time. Though most of the existing literature focuses on Mexico,
Guatemala has an exceptionally high rate of feminicide: an estimated 6500 women were
murdered between 2000 and 2012 and that number continues to rise. Combining the
theoretical frameworks of Path Dependency Theory and Intersectionality, the project
seeks to chart the development of attitudes towards both indigenous and ladina women in
Guatemala from the colonial period to the modern era. The paper examines how media
representations of women and of crimes against women reinforce these narratives, which
have now become institutionalised, allowing feminicide to continue unchecked. A focus
on sensationalism and victim blaming, combined with a lack of investigative journalism
in the reporting of femicide, has reinforced the culture of impunity that exists in
Guatemala. Highly racialised and unrealistic beauty standards in the media also render
indigenous women less visible in society. Their lack of participation in the political arena
further hinders their fight for justice. The paper concludes with an evaluation of some of
the emerging activist movements that aim to counter the violence.
Description
Scanned and uploaded with the permission of the author.