Femicides in Honduras

Honduran femicides are murders committed against women within the Central American country of Honduras. Between 2002 and 2013, 3,923 women were murdered.[1][2] The number of femicides makes up 9.6% of the total number of homicides in the country.[3] In 2013, an average of 53 women were murdered each month and, as with other homicide investigations, more than 90% of these cases were not brought to trial. Before the murders were carried out, the women were frequently burned, raped and tortured. Between 2010 and 2013, the number of murders increased by 65%.[4][5]

The local and national authorities have been publicly accused of inaction due to their inadequate response to these crimes. There are few governmental and non-governmental organizations that offer support to the victims' families. In 2015, the Honduran government committed 30 million Honduran lempiras for the creation of a special unit in the 2016 budget for femicide investigation.

Femicides

As in the greater part of homicides committed against men in Honduras, femicides continue to occur due to lack of investigation and judicial process.

Rape and murder of Riccy Mabel Martínez

Riccy Mabel Martínez Sevilla, born in The Ceiba Caribbean region of Honduras, was a third-year student of Education at the Escuela Normal Mixta Pedro Nufio in Tegucigalpa.

Her boyfriend, Rubén Hurtado Padilla, had been drafted to complete compulsory military service, leading Riccy Mabel to visit the Battalion of Communications in the outskirts of Tegucigalpa in order to request the release of her boyfriend. That same day, Riccy disappeared. According to the forensic examinations carried out by the FBI, she had been raped and murdered by at least four men.

Her body was found on July 15, 1991 alongside a creek. One of the principal suspects of her rape and murder was Colonel Ángel Castillo Maradiaga.

A key witness to the crime was Esteban García, an ice cream vendor, who affirmed to have seen the teenager inside a car identical to that of the colonel. Several days, however, before he was supposed to give his testimony, he suffered fatal wounds in an apparent gang robbery.[6]

Murder of environmentalist Blanca Jeanette Kawas

Blanca Jeanette Kawas was a Honduran environmental activist known for her role in the preservation of more than 400 species of flora and fauna. She carried out actions against the administration of Carlos Roberto Reina Idiáquez due to the granting of land titles to farmers and business entrepreneurs in the Punta Sal reserve, today known as the Jeanette Kawas National Park.[7]

Two days after a prostest, on February 6, 1995, 7:45 PM, Jeanette Kawas was shot dead in her home by two unidentified suspects in the neighborhood of El Centro, in Tela, Atlántida. Among the murder suspects are Colonel Mario Amaya (known as "Tigre Amaya"), who met with Sergeant Ismael Perdomo and Mario Pineda (also known as "Chapin") at the police headquarters in Tela.[8]

Murder of Miss World Honduras 2014

In November 2014, adolescent María José Alvarado and her sister Sofía Trinidad were murdered at a party while celebrating the birthday of Sofía's ex-boyfriend. Her boyfriend Plutarco Ruíz was identified by witnesses as the murderer, and he eventually confessed to the crime. Having been declared guilty, his sentence was predicted to be between 60 and 80 years.[9][10][11] He was sentenced on November 12, 2015.[12]

Berta Cáceres

Berta Cáceres, a Lenca environmental activist and indigenous leader, was murdered on March 2, 2016. She was assassinated in her home by armed intruders after years of threats against her life.[13] Cáceres' death was widely condemned, with calls for an investigation coming from the Organization of American States (OAS),[14] the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras,[15] and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.[16] Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández declared the investigation of the murder a priority,[17] and Luis Almagro, the Secretary General of the OAS, reiterated the OAS's previous call for special protection of indigenous human rights defenders in Honduras.[14] Other expressions of support came from American actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, Canadian author and activist Naomi Klein, Amnesty International, former Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba, Oxfam, the Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, and Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

Contract Killing in Honduras

One of the most common methods of assassinating women in Honduras is contract killing, shooting the women either inside or outside of their residence and then escaping.

National Civil Code Reforms

In February 2013 the National Congress of Honduras approved a reform in the national civil code which classified femicide as a felony, carrying a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.[1]

Causes

Causes for the high level of femicides in Honduras are varied, although one of the principal causes is the lack of legal repercussions. Ninety percent of murders go un-investigated, and consequently the number of femicides continues to grow.

Unit for the Investigation of Femicides

In 2015, the government of Honduras attributed 30 million Honduran lempiras to the creation of a special unit in the 2016 budget for the investigation of femicides.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Cerca de 4.000 mujeres fueron asesinadas en Honduras entre 2002 y 2013".
  2. ↑ "Más de 3,600 mujeres fueron asesinadas en Honduras entre 2002 y junio de 2013 - América Latina - ElNuevoHerald.com". 10 September 2014. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ Gibbons, Jonathan (2013). "Global Study on Homicide" (PDF). www.unodc.org. United National Office of Drugs and Crime (Vienna).
  4. ↑ "Los asesinatos de mujeres aumentan un 65 por ciento en Honduras".
  5. ↑ "Una interminable "epidemia" muerte de mujeres en Honduras".
  6. ↑ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld - Honduras: Death of Riccy Mabel, July 1993".
  7. ↑ Controlador. "Mártires de la lucha ambiental". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21.
  8. ↑ "Honduras ante la corte interamericana por el asesinato de ambientalista - Honduras Laboral". 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015.
  9. ↑ http://www.tiempo.hn/naci%C3%B3n/item/9495-testigos-identifican-a-plutarco-como-el-asesino-de-miss-honduras-y-su-hermana,-en-audiencia-inicial
  10. ↑ "Asesinato de reina; shock para violenta Honduras".
  11. ↑ "Dictan prisión para Plutarco Ruiz por el asesinato de Miss Honduras Mundo y su hermana".
  12. ↑ "Reanudan caso de Plutarco Ruiz, supuesto asesino de Miss Honduras Mundo".
  13. ↑ "Threats, attacks and intimidation against Berta Cáceres Flores". BertaCaceres.org.
  14. 1 2 "Secretario de la OEA condena asesinato de Berta Cáceres". La Tribuna. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  15. ↑ "Berta Cáceres, Human Rights, Environmental Activist Killed In Honduras". Latin Times. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  16. ↑ "La ONU condena el asesinato de la líder indígena hondureña Berta Cáceres". HispanTV. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  17. ↑ "Gobierno de Honduras condena el vil asesinato de Berta Cáceres". El Heraldo. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  18. ↑
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ Harriet Alexander (4 March 2016). "Honduran environmentalist Berta Caceres murdered in her home". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  21. ↑ "Calle 13:"El asesinato de Berta Cáceres multiplicará la lucha"". La Prensa. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  22. ↑ "Piedad Córdoba condena asesinato de líder social Berta Cáceres". TeleSur. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  23. ↑ "Alcaldesa de Barcelona: "Asesinos de Berta no callarán su vuz ni su lucha"". NotiBomba. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  24. ↑ "Venezuela:Nicolás Maduro reacciona por muerte de hondureña Berta Cáceres". El Heraldo. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  25. ↑
  26. ↑ "On The Assassination Of Berta Caceres In Honduras". www.leahy.senate.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
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