A Body Speaks: State, Media, and Public Responses to Femicide in Guatemala

Abstract

In 2008, Guatemala passed the Law against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence against Women, establishing the gender-based killing of women (femicide) as a unique crime. Since then, over 9000 Guatemalan women and girls have died violent deaths. How do Guatemalan institutions and publics react to these women’s murders, and what do these reactions reveal about the impacts of legislative reform for individual victims, Guatemalan society, and criminal justice institutions? To answer these questions, we analyze state, media, and public reactions to three high-profile femicides that took place after the 2008 VAW Law. We trace the criminal justice response and legal developments following each femicide, and couple this with an analysis of newspaper coverage and social media commentary about the case. We find that despite the passage of new legislation and the creation of new institutions, various weaknesses in the Guatemalan criminal justice system undermine the impacts of reforms. These weaknesses in the criminal justice system produce three types of injuries: (1) individual injuries by hurting victims and their families; (2) public injuries by diverting public attention away from reflections about social norms and VAWG; and (3) institutional injuries by reinforcing the public’s distrust of the criminal justice system.

“At the Root of COVID Grew a More Complicated Situation”: A Qualitative Analysis of the Guatemalan Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response System during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Numerous forces drive migrants north from and through Guatemala, including poverty, government corruption, organized crime, and high rates of domestic violence [ 29 ]. Despite a sweeping 2008 law overhauling the response to GBV and femicide in Guatemala, 600–700 women are still murdered annually [ 30 ], and the lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Guatemala was estimated to be 21% in 2018 [ 31 ]. Although the 2008 national legislation aimed to decrease the incidence of GBV and increase support services for survivors, service availability is still insufficient throughout the country, particularly for women living in rural areas [ 32 ].…”

Violence against Women and Specialized Justice in Guatemala: Advances and Limitations

“… 17. It should be noted, however, that interviews with women’s organizations and my analysis of emblematic cases of femicide heard elsewhere in the country reveal that there are indeed rare judges in VAWG courts that actively work against the goal of addressing impunity for VAWG (Beck and Mohamed 2021). …”