TW: Mentions of sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault.
Honduras has been named on several occasions the worst place in the world to be a woman. High levels of gender-based violence persist in a climate of chronic generalised violence. The obvious threat of criminal groups, gangs, and corruption, belies the less perceptible threat of an embedded patriarchal and sexist culture. Women and young girls experience a wide range of violence in both private and public spaces that perpetuate their vulnerability and victimisation in a state that is unwilling and unable to protect them, driving many of them to flee the country.
By Laia Corxet Solé
Honduras consistently ranks among the world’s most dangerous places to live (outside of an active conflict zone), especially for women [1]. Gender-based violence is persistent and pervasive throughout the region, most notably in the countries known as the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – where crime, gang violence, corruption, and patriarchal culture coalesce, creating a climate ripe for violence against women. In 2022, as recorded by national media, 297 women were victims of femicide, and the National Emergency System registered 38,332 reports of domestic violence and 59,147 reports of intimate partner violence [2]. Between 2016 and 2021, 2,264 women were victims of femicide [3]. In January 2023 alone, 38 women died a violent death in Honduras [4]. Gender-based violence is the second leading cause of death among women of reproductive age in the country [5].
Numbers and statistics of femicides, however, cannot fully encompass the reality for Honduran women, which is marked by violence and fear. The NTCA countries are male-dominated societies in which children and women alike are subjected to violence with impunity [6], and extreme levels of gender-based violence in the region have been identified as one of the major driving forces for both internal displacement and external migration towards Mexico and the United States [7].
A VIOLENT MILIEU: CHRONIC VIOLENCE AND MILITARISATION
Criminal groups and gangs, regionally known as maras, have terrorised Honduras since the 1990s and are characterised by their brutal use of violence against the population [8]. The State’s response to organised crime has led to an open confrontation between national security forces and the gangs. The situation was further exacerbated by the 2009 coup d’état perpetrated by the armed forces against the democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya, which led to an increased militarisation of the state [9]. In this context, violence against women is minimised and overlooked as a secondary security issue.
The 2009 coup impacted violence against Honduran women in two ways. Firstly, the few (largely ineffective) legal advancements and structural protections for women developed by previous democratic governments were dismantled, further stripping women of support and recourse in the face of violence [10]. Secondly, the growing militarisation of the government and society normalised all forms of violence, especially those against women [11]. This is evidenced by the fact that femicide increased by 300% from 2006 to 2012 [12].
A VIOLENT SYSTEM: IMPUNITY AND INSTITUTIONAL VIOLENCE
There is a systematic disregard by authorities for gender-based violence, which further victimises women and normalises this type of violence in society. Abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence are a widespread norm in both public and private spheres, yet there is little support from state institutions for victims to escape vulnerable situations [13]. A high percentage of abuses go unreported, as women fear being dismissed and further victimised by police and judicial authorities [14]. Moreover, even those who do report abuse find little support, since the impunity rate for gender-based violence in Honduras is over 90% [15], meaning, reports rarely end up leading to an investigation or a conviction. Often, reporting only places women in more danger at the hands of their abusers, who are unlikely to face any consequences. Indeed, impunity is one of the major factors that enable the continuation of high rates of violence against women in Honduras [16], and together with the lack of legislative enforcement and a restriction of reproductive rights, constitutes another form of violence against women: structural violence [17].
A VIOLENT CULTURE: MACHISMO AND GANG CULTURE
Machismo (the Spanish term that refers to cultural misogyny) is ubiquitous in Honduras and in most of Central America. Patriarchal and sexist beliefs are the cultural norm, and traditional gender roles are strictly enforced. The pervasiveness of macho culture is a crucial element in the normalisation of gender-based violence, since it perpetuates the belief that women are lesser beings subject to male authority and domination, and therefore violence inflicted upon them is legitimate [18]. Domestic and intimate partner violence are pervasive and normalised within society, and the state lacks the will and the resources to properly protect women from it [19]. Additionally, the prevalence of rape and sexual violence gives rise to a number of health concerns for women in the form of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies in a country where abortion is heavily penalized [20].
Honduras’ cultural misogyny, however, reaches extreme levels when it intersects with gang culture. In a society that emphasises gendered hierarchies, gang members demonstrate extreme, hypermasculine attitudes in order to assert their dominance [21]. Violence and control over women is an expectation for gang members to gain the respect of other members and assert dominance over the population.
Gender-based violence, however, is not only perpetuated for the hyper-masculine projection needs of gang members, but pursues strategic goals as well [22]. Gangs use barbaric violence against women to enforce their control over the population and the territory under their domain, as well as the illicit markets in which they operate [23]. Violence serves a communicative aim in the maras’ strategy of terror, sending a message to the general population, the state, and even their own members. Violence against women living in gang-controlled areas, particularly rape and sexual assault, is also used as a tool for control and punishment of the women themselves and their family members; escaping the violence is virtually impossible. Subsequently, many women and their families are driven to either endure or flee the country altogether, a decision which renders them even more vulnerable to sexual violence and victimization by criminal gangs, police, and smugglers, as they make their way to other countries [24]. In fact, the chronic state of violence in Honduras, especially in the form of domestic violence, is associated with the high levels of displacements and migration in the country [25].
Consequently, women’s bodies become a battlefield where the conflict between gangs and the state is waged, as physical and symbolic violence perpetrated by both sides becomes deeply ingrained in the everyday life of women and girls in Honduras [26]. The persistent presence of gangs and cartels forces many women to live in self-imposed imprisonment in their own homes as a form of protection [27]. Oftentimes, young girls will see their education cut short to avoid violence in school or in the street, which has lasting consequences on their prospects [28]. Young women and children are especially vulnerable to sexual violence [29] and non-traditional forms of human trafficking, such as being made to engage in criminal activity through force or coercion [30]. A common feature of gang culture is the phenomenon of Jianas, a term used to designate young girls and women who have been forced into brutally violent relationships with gang members in conditions that amount to modern-day slavery [31]. Furthermore, women are faced with additional violence perpetrated by members of the security forces [32]. Crimes committed against women in gang-controlled areas are more likely to go unpunished and unreported, and girls and women with gang associations – whether voluntary or not – are prosecuted and subject to additional abuses, including sexual assault, beatings, disappearances, and femicide [33].
Conclusion
The Honduran State has failed to establish a system that protects women [34]. Gender-based violence in all its forms is normalised and legitimised in a society where violent expressions of hypermasculinity are the norm. Violence against women is ultimately an expression of the systematic and pervasive patriarchal and misogynistic ideas that permeate Honduras’ society and state, and it is a reflection of the unequal power dynamics between men and women in the region [35]. When this patriarchal normalisation of violence against women intersects with the maras’ brutality, however, the violence against women reaches extremely disturbing levels.
The recent election in 2022 of Honduras’ first female president, Xiomara Castro, may present an opportunity for change, as she has expressed willingness to defend women’s sexual and reproductive rights, as well as tackle the high levels of gender-based violence in the country [36]. Nevertheless, the context and culture that enable widespread gender-based violence in Honduras will necessitate a multifaceted and systematic transformation that tackles the root causes: long-term, chronic violence and machismo culture.
References
[1] Boerman, Thomas J., and Golob, Adam. “Gangs and modern-day slavery in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala: A non-traditional model of human trafficking” Journal of Human Trafficking, 7, no. 3 (3 July 2021): 241–257. DOI: 10.1080/23322705.2020.1719343
[2] Centro de Derechos de Mujeres. “Violencias contra las Mujeres Hondureñas - 2022.” Available at: https://derechosdelamujer.org/project/2022/ [Accessed 28 February 2023].
[3] Centro de Derechos de Mujeres. “Comparativas anuales de violencia contra mujeres en Honduras.” Available at: https://derechosdelamujer.org/project/comparativas-anuales-de-violencia-contra-mujeres-en-honduras/ [Accessed 1 March 2023].
[4] Centro de Derechos de Mujeres. “Violencia contra las mujeres en Honduras - 2023” Availabel at: https://derechosdelamujer.org/project/2023/ [Accessed March 1, 2023].
[5] Obinna, Denise N. “Seeking Sanctuary: Violence Against Women in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala”, Violence Against Women 27, no. 6-7, (1 May 2021) 806-827. DOI: 10.1177/1077801220913633.
[6] Boerman and Golob, “Gangs and modern-day slavery”.
[7] Rembecky, Dorian. “Gender-Based Violence in Honduras: International Involvement against Impunity” (2022).
[8] Fogelbach, Juan J. ‘Gangs, Violence, and Victims in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras’. San Diego International Law Journal 12, no. 2 (2011): 417–62.
[9] Jokela-Pansini, Maaret. ‘Complicating Notions of Violence: An Embodied View of Violence against Women in Honduras’. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 38, no. 5 (1 August 2020): 848–65. DOI: 10.1177/2399654420906833
[10] Rembecki, “Gender-Based Violence in Honduras”.
[11] Jokela-Pansini, “Complicating notions of violence”.
[12]Menjívar, Cecilia, and Walsh, Shannon Drysdale. ‘The Architecture of Feminicide: The State, Inequalities, and Everyday Gender Violence in Honduras’. Latin American Research Review 52, no. 2 (1 January 2022): 221–240. DOI: 10.25222/larr.73
[13] Rembecki, “Gender-Based Violence in Honduras”.
[14] Boerman, Thomas J., and Knapp, Jennifer. “Gang culture and violence against women in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala” Immigration Briedings, 17-03 (2017).
[15]The Advocates for Human Rights, “Honduras’ Compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Suggested List of Issues Relating to Violence Against Women”. Available at:
https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/Res/honduras_iccpr_loi_july_2016.pdf [Accessed 1 March 2023].
[16] Rembecki, “Gender-Based Violence in Honduras”.
[17]Jokela-Pansini, “Complicating notions of violence”.
[18] Boerman and Knapp. “Gang culture and violence against women”.
[19] Rembecki, “Gender-Based Violence in Honduras”.
[20] Human Rights Watch. ‘Honduras debe comprometerse a proteger los derechos de mujeres y niñas’, 17 October 2022. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/es/news/2022/10/17/honduras-debe-comprometerse-proteger-los-derechos-de-mujeres-y-ninas [Accessed 1 March 2023].
[21] Boerman and Knapp. “Gang culture and violence against women”; Boerman and Golop, “Gangs and modern-day slavery”.
[22] Boerman and Knapp. “Gang culture and violence against women”.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Obinna, “Seeking Sanctuary”.
[25] ‘La violencia: de los principales desafíos que enfrenta la mujer hondureña’. Expediente Público (blog), 14 December 2021. Available at: https://www.expedientepublico.org/la-violencia-uno-de-los-principales-desafios-que-enfrenta-la-mujer-hondurena/ [Accessed 1 March 2023].
[26] Jokela-Pansini, “Complicating notions of violence”.
[27] Obinna, “Seeking Sanctuary”.
[28] Baranowski, Kim A., Wang, Eileen, D’Andrea, Megan R., and Singer, Elizabeth K. ‘Experiences of Gender-Based Violence in Women Asylum Seekers from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala’. Torture Journal 29, no. 3 (2019): 46–58. DOI: 10.7146/torture.v29i3.111970
[29] UNDP. ‘Análisis de violencia contra las mujeres a lo largo del ciclo de vida en Honduras 2021 | Programa De Las Naciones Unidas Para El Desarrollo’. Available at: https://www.undp.org/es/honduras/noticias/analisis-de-violencia-contra-las-mujeres-lo-largo-del-ciclo-de-vida-en-honduras-2021. [Accessed 28 February 2023].
[30] Boerman and Golop, “Gangs and modern-day slavery”.
[31] Obinna, “Seeking Sanctuary”; Boerman and Golop, “Gangs and modern-day slavery”.
[32] Jokela-Pansini, “Complicating notions of violence”.
[33] Rembecki, “Gender-Based Violence in Honduras”; Boerman and Golop, “Gangs and modern-day slavery”.
[34] Rembecki, “Gender-Based Violence in Honduras”.
[35] Obinna, “Seeking Sanctuary”.
[36] UNDP. “Análisi de violencia contra las mujeres”.
