Building a safer world for women in Central America and Mexico

Violence against women and femicide continues to be one of the leading human rights crises in Central America and Mexico. According to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, one in three women and girls will experience physical, emotional, or sexual violence in their lifetime.

This is an incredibly alarming figure, and unfortunately, it’s not the only threat women face around the world. Nearly 750 million women and girls today are married before the age of 18, signaling the alarming persistence of forced marriages around the globe. Furthermore, over 200 million girls have endured female genital mutilation. Women and girls make up 71% of all human trafficking victims, and nearly all those women and girls experience sexual exploitation. 

In an effort to continue bringing awareness and light to this enduring health and safety crisis, Nov. 25 has been named International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women. This day marks the anniversary of when the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, were assassinated by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo.

Although this global event day brings awareness to the issue of violence against women and femicide, the troubling problem persists. Women still face a disproportionate amount of discrimination and violence in their homes, communities and workplaces.

Women in Central America tend to face a triple burden for discrimination: misogyny, financial inequity, and anti-Indigenous or anti-Black racism. Horizons of Friendship aims to be culturally specific when it comes to our support of women around the world, and we fight for women empowerment and increased pressure for the government to create appropriate policies for the safety of women. 

Sadly, the everyday reality for many women in Central America and Mexico is grim. The patriarchy and machismo are powerful forces in these cultures, which also face gang violence, sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Horizons strives to eliminate these adversities in Mesoamerica with our many ongoing, intersectional projects that contribute to ending violence against women.

For example, in El Salvador, where the rate of femicide is highest in the world, Horizons partnered with the Organization of Salvadoran Women for Peace (ORMUSA) in order to promote women's rights. The main goal of this project was to raise awareness about the lack of protection of women by public institutions. 

Together, ORMUSA and Horizons sought to improve women’s access to justice by providing legal services and creating connections to feminist organizations in El Salvador and across Central America.

Similar to El Salvador, women in Nicaragua also face adversities because of their gender every day. Approximately 60% of women in Nicaragua have been victims of physical and sexual abuse, and the Indigenous Miskitu women are at an even greater vulnerability due to living in isolated areas. Horizons’ partner, the Association of Indigenous Women of the Atlantic (AMICA), works with many communities across the North Atlantic Coast in order to suppress cultural attitudes that promote violence against women. They help to educate the Miskitu women on the new laws on violence against women in Nicaragua, as well as Criminal Code Reforms. By promoting these laws, AMICA has strengthened and empowered many women in their efforts to influence the government of Nicaragua. 

Violence against women and femicide does not just end in Nicaragua and El Salvador. “Being a woman in Honduras is synonymous with danger and discrimination,” says Merly Eguigure, director of Visitación Padilla (the Visitación Padilla Women’s Movement for Peace). 

In Honduras, Horizons has teamed up with Visitación Padilla to promote and protect the rights of Honduras women and girls. Honduras has some of the highest levels of violence against women and femicide in the world, due to deeply-rooted inequality and discrimination in legal, economic, social, and educational institutions. For example, many of the textbooks and school curriculum in Honduras reinforce gender stereotypes and send a message that supports the idea of women being inferior to men. 

With the support of Horizons, Visitación Padilla works to provide the young people of Honduras with a new perspective on gender, and aims to eradicate any ideologies in institutions that perpetuate inequality. They do this through initiatives such as cyber-activism campaigns, creating and sharing online messages that question gender stereotypes, while increasing community engagement in support of gender equality. Visitación Padilla is known as one of the leading women’s rights organizations in Honduras, and their resilience over the years demonstrates the strength of Central American women who continue to inspire us at Horizons.

Horizons is proud to have a continued role in working to eliminate violence against women in Central America and Mexico. To stand with our partners who support oppressed women and girls on Nov. 25 is an honour, and we will continue to dedicate our work to improving and protecting the lives of women in Central America and Mexico.