Mara-Katharina Thurnhofer

Weaponisation of Female Bodies: Violence Against Women by Cartels and Gangs in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico

Weaponisation of Female Bodies: Violence Against Women by Cartels and Gangs in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico

In male-dominated cultures characterised by machismo, women are victims of violence on a daily basis. In Latin America, hundreds of women are killed every year, simply for being women. Against this panoramic backdrop, this article focuses on the most severe form of violence against women (VAW); it concentrates on structural anti-female violence, particularly the weaponisation of the female body.