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November 1999 |
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November 1999 |
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Femicide in Costa Rica: A Gender-Based Crime on the Rise
Every November 25th since 1981, the international women's movement commemorates International Day Against Violence Towards Women. At present, violence against women and girls is one of the most permissible crimes in the world. It is also one of the most extensive. According to United Nations statistics, 60 million women who should be alive have disappeared as a consequence of gender-based violence. It is estimated that 5 out of every 7 women will be subjected to sexual violence, and 1 out of every 2 women (50%) have been subjected to some form of aggression by their companions. In Costa Rica, 34% of the women that have been assassinated have died at the hands of their spouses, boyfriends, or companions . Six percent of them have been killed by former companions; and 26% have been killed by their fathers, cousins or some other family member. The remaining 24% have died at the hands of an unknown person. Today, it is widely recognized that the perpetrators of femicide are people who have family links with their innocent victims. As of 1997: * Legal protection against violence toward women has occurred in
only one-fourth of all countries in the world;
For November 25, 1999, Feminist International Radio Endeavour (FIRE) presents "Femicide in Costa Rica: A Gender Based Crime on the Rise" in commemoration of the victims of femicide. Each one of them was an innocent victim. FIRE interviewed Dr. Monserat Sagot about femicide in Costa Rica. She is the
Director of the Masters Degree in Women´s
Studies at the Universities of Costa Rica and Heredia in the country.
Together with CEFEMINA (the Feminist Center for Research and Action) she
has undertaken a research study about this gender based crime against women.
Asked about the history of violence against women in the country, Monserat explained who were the women who first put the issue in the local agenda in the 1970s, and what has been the role of the women’s movement in promoting legislation and social and political action for women to struggle to conquer the right to a life without violence in Costa Rica. She also talked about the difficulties in getting “femicide” recognized as such.
One of the difficulties in proving whether violence against women has increased is the fact that so many ways of sub-registration exist in the police and legal systems. She explains some of the ways this sub-registration takes place, as shown in the research being undertaken by her and CEFEMINA. Monserat talked to FIRE about the evidence in the research that shows how
femicide is hidden in the legal system. She also addressed the relationship
between other forms of violence and gender-based violence in Costa Rica.
Legislation about violence exists in Costa Rica, and the Government has adopted all of the international instruments that exist in the United Nations (U.N.) system and the Organizations of American States (OAS). In talking about both levels, Monserat explained the relationship between the national and the international arenas, but she also adressed the limitations of the law alone to protect women. FIRE asked the feminist researcher to share other actions (besides change and use of laws) that the women’s movement has undertaken in Costa Rica recently: vigils, petition campaigns, and workshops are among them.
INICIO
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Montserrat Sagot
