A Body Speaks: State, Media, and Public Responses to Femicide in Guatemala

Erin Beck and Amir Mohamed
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Erin Beck: Department of Political Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
Amir Mohamed: Department of Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA

Laws, 2021, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-28

Abstract: In 2008, Guatemala passed the Law against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence against Women, establishing the gender-based killing of women (femicide) as a unique crime. Since then, over 9000 Guatemalan women and girls have died violent deaths. How do Guatemalan institutions and publics react to these women’s murders, and what do these reactions reveal about the impacts of legislative reform for individual victims, Guatemalan society, and criminal justice institutions? To answer these questions, we analyze state, media, and public reactions to three high-profile femicides that took place after the 2008 VAW Law. We trace the criminal justice response and legal developments following each femicide, and couple this with an analysis of newspaper coverage and social media commentary about the case. We find that despite the passage of new legislation and the creation of new institutions, various weaknesses in the Guatemalan criminal justice system undermine the impacts of reforms. These weaknesses in the criminal justice system produce three types of injuries: (1) individual injuries by hurting victims and their families; (2) public injuries by diverting public attention away from reflections about social norms and VAWG; and (3) institutional injuries by reinforcing the public’s distrust of the criminal justice system.

Keywords: violence against women and girls; femicide; Guatemala; crime; news media coverage; social media; public opinion; criminal justice system; impunity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D78 E61 E62 F13 F42 F68 K0 K1 K2 K3 K4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlawss:v:10:y:2021:i:3:p:73-:d:632872

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