2 Gender violence in Honduras and El Salvador emphasizing policies to reduce it- Melanie Andreo

Gender violence is any interpersonal, organizational, or politically oriented violation perpetrated against people due to their gender identity, sexual orientation, or location in the hierarchy of male-dominated social systems such as families, military organizations, or the labor force (Shepherd, 2007). Gender is hierarchical and produces inequalities that intersect with other social and economic inequalities (Anna Kari, 2021). With gender relation, we see that a difference in social norms, behaviors, and roles associated with the social construction of being a woman or being a man can have different interactions. This difference in interaction can be seen in trying to achieve power and control. Men are most likely to be in control and have authority over women due to the social constructions that were taught in society that were deemed as appropriate, such behaviors include: a man who is able to exert their authority over women using violence and having sexual control over women, this is the social construction of masculinity.

“Machismo” is generally equated with traits like bravado, sexual prowess, protecting one’s honor, and a willingness to face danger (PAHO). Men learn norms, behaviors, and customs that are deemed appropriate and oftentimes connected to their culture. Machismo in Latin American culture shows that a man is aggressive but has a lot of pride for being masculine, and are the people in the household that receives and demand the most respect simply because they are men. With the demand for respect from family, social groups, and systems, there can come a form of violence that hurts women. Violence can be seen as an extreme application of social control, usually understood as the use of physical force, but violence can also be seen in psychological forms in which the outcome becomes women internalizing fear (O’Toole, Schiffman and Lancaster, 2020).

Autonomy in our case is a woman’s ability to access and exert control over economic, material, and social resources alone or in collaboration with her husband…the central themes are control and the ability to make independent decisions (Tenkorang, 2018). The types of autonomy that I look at are specifically physical and economic autonomy. The Autonomy Model presented by ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) mentions how there are three forms of autonomy: physical, economic, and decision-making. (ECLAC, 2019).

• Physical Autonomy: The ability to make independent decisions on one’s own physical body.
  • These are the social problems women face in regards to their physical autonomy
    • Maternal Mortality
    • Femicide or Feminicide
    • Unmet demands for family planning
    • Child Marriage
    • Women’s deaths at the hands of their intimate partner or former partner
    • Teenage Maternity
    • Domestic Violence

• Economic Autonomy: The ability to make independent decisions on one’s own economic interest
  • These are the social problems women face in regards to their economic autonomy
    • Unpaid Work Labor
    • Poverty Rate
    • Unemployment Rate

manifestations of gender violence

case:

I focus on Honduras and El Salvador, two countries from Central America.

UN Women Globally, violence against women disproportionately affects low- and
lower-middle-income countries and regions. (UN Women 2021) Gender Violence is
disproportionately prevalent in Latin America, but it is important to understand that this is
happening all over the world. Gender-based violence has created fear for women. I will be
focusing on Honduras and El Salvador, both countries to highlight gender violence through
statistics of forced child marriage, intimate physical/sexual violence, lack of economic autonomy
which can be seen through unpaid labor for women.

Honduras

Honduras is a country in Latin America with a population of 10,129,087 (World Bank,
2021). There is a lot of rich culture in Honduras, but there are also certain factors that have
affected the lives of people who live there, such factors are the femicide rates and domestic
violence against women. The increase of violence in Honduras can be connected to the high
levels of poverty and inequality. According to the World Bank, in 2019, over 59% of people
remained below the poverty line, and 36.2% of the people in Honduras are in extreme poverty. It
is crucial to highlight the statistics about poverty because with poverty and lack of resources,
there is an increase of violence. According to UN Women Gender Equality Indexes, Honduras
falls into the ranking of 101 for Gender Inequality. This number is measures looking at the
reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market participation of men and women.
Honduras has the highest rate of Femicide in Latin America, but unfortunately in the whole
world. Due to the disproportionate amount of women being killed due to gender violence, there
has been a lack of trust from the government and police authorities to help the families impacted
by Femicide to get justice. There is also a negative social attitude against women who speak out
against gender violence, further oppressing and marginalizing women from getting justice.
Honduras women have been affected socially, politically, and economically from forms of
gender violence, which has caused social and political issues to rise. Lack of resources for
women, violence, and lack of safety and security from the government has allowed for the
increase of femicide, sexual assault, forced child marriage, and rape to increase. In 2018, UN
Women also provides statistics about the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were
first married or in a relationship before the age 18 whom were forced into child marriage. This
number in Honduras makes up almost ⅓ of the population with a high of 33%. The percentage of
physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence is at a 27.8%, this statistics highlights the
women who are aged 15-49. With talking about physical autonomy, we have to also understand
that taking advantage of a women’s economic autonomy also perpetuates violence.

• Population: 10,129,087 (World Bank, 2021)
• High levels of poverty and inequality
• Gender Equality Index: 101 (Gender Inequality)

  • This number is measured by looking at the reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market participation of men and women.

     

El Salvador 

El Salvador is a country part of Central America, a country where gender violence, in this
case violence against women is disproportionately high. In El Salvador, the population is
6,486,201 (2020). According to the UN Women Gender Equality Indexes, El Salvador falls into
the ranking of 85 for Gender Inequality. This number is determined by measuring the forms of
inequalities between women and men. It touches upon three aspects, (1) reproductive health
(maternal mobility ratio and adolescent birth rate), empowerment (share of patriarchal seats held
by women and share of population with at least some secondary education, (3) and labour market
participation (labour force participation rate) (UN Women, Human Development Report 2016).
Child Marriage is also prevelent in El Salvador and shows how in 2018 25.5% of women aged
20-24 now have been married before the age of 18. Sexual and/or physical violence is also
present and shows how 5.7% of women have experiences violence from an intimate partner at
least once in their lifetime. Women who have been in the workforce, can get taken advantage of
especially when it comes to how much they get paid, and if they get paid at all. Women and girls
aged 15+ spend 22.3% of their time on unpaid care and domestic work, compared to 6.4% spent
by men (UN Women, 2020).

• Population: 6,486,201 (World Bank, 2021)
• High levels of poverty and inequality
• Gender Equality Index: 85 (Gender Inequality)
  • This number is measured by looking at the reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market participation of men and women.