Femicide in Latin America

Femicide, broadly defined as the murder of a woman motivated by gender, is a prevalent issue in Latin America. In 2016, 14 of the top 25 nations with the highest global femicide rates were Latin American or Caribbean states. In 2021, 4,445 women were recorded victims of femicide in the region, translating to the gender-based murder of about one woman every two hours in Latin America.

Throughout the 2010s, Latin American governments began legally recognizing and distinguishing the crime of femicide. This, coupled with records collection support provided to many states by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), has allowed Latin American nations to produce more comprehensive data on femicide rates across the region. Ten Latin American countries have laws ordering the collection of data on gender-related violence, and femicide as of 2022 with the GEO's data.

Despite efforts to reform, Latin American femicide rates have not decreased substantially in recent years, with the total number of femicides increasing from 4,091 2020 to 4,445 in 2021. A series of factors account for high rates of femicide in Latin America, including entrenched gender roles and the persistence of machismo, organized crime and criminal governance, and weak justice institutions that treat gender-based crimes with impunity. The impacts of femicide include violation of basic human rights, displacement of women, and amplification of organized crime and ineffective justice systems. Activists and feminist groups across Latin America have created movements protesting high rates of femicide and state complicity in failing to address violence against women. Some of the movements that have gained traction are the "Disappearing Daughters" project in Ciudad Juarez and the "Ni Una Menos" movement originating in Argentina. Pink crosses are used to commemorate victims of femicide throughout Latin America.