20 femicides in Panama reflect Global trend

PANAMA  has recorded 20 violent deaths off women this year,  part of a global phenomenon according to the UN.

The first edition of a UN document that seeks to support those responsible for the investigation and criminal prosecution for the violent deaths of women was presented in Panama on Monday, September 15, by Carmen Rosa Villa, the Central America region representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“It is time to move to action and practice in this serious problem that has become a global phenomenon of proportions never before imagined,” said Villa. She explained that the document relates not only to prosecutors but also to judges, the police and experts, because it is aimed at guaranteeing the rights of victims.

There are 65,000 deaths annually related to violence against women. There were 119 deaths of women recorded in Argentina in the first half of 2012, 234 cases in Ecuador that same year and 20 cases in Panama so far in 2014.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 38 percent of the women who die violent deaths were killed by their partner. “Our concern is above all when the state is not reacting to  these facts and when it is not determined who is responsible, we create the perception that these behaviors are allowed and not punished,” she added.

UN official Anna Coates said that femicide is an extreme manifestation of the inequality of gender which is growing in Latin America. At the least 2,200 women and girls have been murdered in the last 10 years in Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, and many of these killings were preceded by sexual abuse and torture. According to the UN, since 2007, several Latin American countries have started to keep statistics on deaths related to domestic violence and strengthened laws to prevent them.