Photo Source: BBC News
Amnesty International has reported that 685 women were brutally tortured and murdered in Guatemala in the year 2010. Less than 4% of these cases are likely to result in convictions (BBC News). The international human-rights community has demanded that Guatemalan authorities investigate these crimes and prosecute those responsible. Guatemalan authorities have shown little inclination to pursue the perpetrators and seem to lack the basic skills needed for the investigative work (North American Congress on Latin America).
Opinions differ greatly as to the cause of the violence. Some say that Guatemalan soldiers developed an appetite for rape and torture during the Civil War. Ex-soldiers are thought to indulge this appetite by abducting and brutalizing indigenous women. It has been further suggested that the Guatemalan government secretly condones the brutality as a method of social control upon the indigenous population. Others say that the abducted women are involved in gangs or drugs and so deserve their fate. Indeed, a few of the victims have been shown to be thus involved (NACLA).
Earlier reports by Amnesty International indicate that there is an acute level of sexual violence within the homes of Guatemala. Exasperating the domestic situation is the Guatemalan legal system that has long treated domestic violence as a minor disturbance. The continuing lack of action by the authorities sends the message that violence against women is acceptable in Guatemala (BBC News).
In Mexico, many women are discriminated on due to their gender. Mexican women have always been seen as nothing more than serving others and bringing more children into this world. These kind of veiws and stereotypes of Mexican women have earned them no respect in the areas that are dominated by men. Mexican women are trying to earn their spot in politics and business fields, but they still struggle everyday with discrimination.
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