| Action against feminicide in Guatemala, an interview with WACC President, Dennis Smith |
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There are no translations available. By Teresia Mutuku, Communication Officer and Web Manager, WACC
Q: Is this problem widespread in Guatemala? The problem of violence against women of course is everywhere. But especially in the last 10 years, in Guatemala and Mexico, we have seen a massive increase of women being murdered for no reason other than the fact that they are women. And this gives rise to a new term - feminicide - which has received international attention. In Mexico the problem seems to be related to women who had come from rural areas to work in export factories on the US-Mexico border. In many cases, young women and single mothers are selected targets. Q: Why were these women targets for murder? There has not been enough research done on why. And this demonstrates how patriarchy works in the justice system, that there has not been a systematic investigation by the authorities of what the women have in common and why these particular women were targeted for murder. This problem is widespread in several different parts of Guatemala - not just among women that were working in export factories, but women in general. 400-600 women are murdered each year. This is a massive social problem and yet neither the attorney general’s office, nor the national police, or the court system have been able to identify what all these cases have in common. This means that women groups have had to assume the responsibility of being advocates against the problem. For example, Norma Cruz, a friend of mine, has set up an NGO to address this issue. She visits the morgues every morning to investigate the women’s bodies. She has become an advocate for investigating those murders. This is a gruesome task which has mobilized communities around this particular issue. One other thing that we are seeing is that where violence against women is considered normal, it makes it very easy for women to be violated. I have travelled a lot in my work within the church and the ecumenical movement and I have never been to any place where violence against women is not a problem. But the gravity of the problem in Guatemala and the fact that it has now come to international attention clearly demonstrates that where you have a culture of impunity, violence, civil strife and a deeply entrenched unemployment and poverty, women suffer worse consequences. Q: What is the role of the church in addressing this issue? This is especially important because religious language has sometimes been used to justify violence against women and children. And so for women, in a religious context, it is important to understand that as daughters and children of God, they have the God given right to stand up and say that violence against women is violence against God. They have to challenge authorities within the church that sometimes have been using their position to justify maltreating women and children, even within religious communities. We have to cultivate alliances with women and men leaders in the religious sector. Religious faith continues to be a fundamental factor in promoting social and ethical change in Latin America. We cannot permit ourselves the luxury of leaving ethical-religious discourse in the hands of the patriarchy. Q: What is the importance of communication rights in addressing the problem? One strategy is to use new technology, to call for mass action and encourage huge public presence at court hearings, so that there are witnesses to what a judicial system does not do.At the grassroots, we need to use a lot more of group media and also create more faith spaces where people can tell their stories. This is important especially for women who have never had a public space where they can confidently tell their stories; a space created by and for women. This is a powerful tool. There are many women who have told their stories to other groups of women for the first time in their lives. The energy that flows from that is very powerful, yet very simple, very low tech. It’s usually done in groups of 15-20 people at a time. It literally transforms lives. Q: Does mass media give attention to this problem worldwide? Generally - mass media does not give adequate attention to women issues. That is what we identified in the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP). What we demonstrated in the GMMP over the last 15 years, the largest research project of its kind, is that women tend to be invisiblised, victimized and objectified in both the commercial media generally and the news media specifically. We documented statistics where media tend to portray women as victims and objects. It is easier then for a patriarchal society to treat women with violence, because women become objects. Q: How does WACC respond to this problem? WACC is supporting a partner in Guatemala working with indigenous and rural women to begin to identify sources of violence within their lives. The project creates awareness that there are options other than being victims of violence. That, of course, has powerful communication implications, in the church, in the community and in the country as a whole. There is need to build capacity for women to effectively influence public policy and to access the media. There is need for women to gain skills in telling personal stories in such a way that they rally international pressure for action. Feminicide affects all women - rich, poor, middle-class, urban, rural, educated, those without much formal academic training -so one of our commitments as WACC and one that we call upon our members to do is first of all tell their stories and find spaces where their stories can be heard within their religious community, their neighborhoods or towns and also within their countries. This was abundantly made clear at WACC’s Congress in Cape Town in October.
WACC in collaboration with Women World Day of Prayer (WWDP) and the United Methodist Church (UMC) are supporting a project in Guatemala ‘Acciones ante el feminicido y la impunidad’ (taking action against feminicide and impunity), an initiative by the Centro Evangélico de Estudios Pastorales en América Central (CEDEPCA) The three-year project is intended to raise public awareness among local populations and authorities in order to address feminicide and impunity. The project applies reflection, information, and training in order to create and offer spaces to express feelings, experiences and activities on violence against women and girls. Among local populations the project purposes to witness publicly to women’s struggles against violence and to systematize a list of demands and proposals for action by local authorities. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites         
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