At least 4,473 women have been victims of femicide in Latin America in 2021, ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) reported last Friday (25), International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The highest homicide rate for women in Latin America in 2021 was recorded in Honduras — Photo: Pixabay/ND

This number represents an average of 12 violent deaths of women per day by sex in the region, according to an OIG report by ECLAC (Observatory for Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean).

“Femicide persists as a reality, and there are no clear signs that this phenomenon is on the wane,” the report says.

In 2021, the highest rates of femicide in Latin America were reported in Honduras (4.6 cases per 100,000 women), Dominican Republic (2.7 cases), El Salvador (2.4), Bolivia (1.8) and Brazil ( 1.7).

In the Caribbean, Belize and Guyana have the highest rates, 3.5 and 2.0 per 100,000 women, respectively.

The data are “unacceptable,” said José Manuel Salazar-Chirinax, executive secretary of ECLAC, quoted in the text.

Adolescents and young women aged 15 to 29 are the age group with the largest proportion of femicide cases.

“Gender-based violence against women and girls occurs systematically and consistently in the region; transcends borders, affects women and girls of all ages, and occurs in all settings from the home to the public,” warns the ECLAC report.