The Guatemalan Lady Killers

Santos Marlene Flores was brutally murdered by a policeman neighbour who lived only a few doors away. Above: Her father, Alberto Antonio, and her six-year-old son, Walter Alberto Osorio Flores, visit her grave and leave her favourite sunflowers.

Vice: Nearly 4,000 women have been killed in a decade. Can you explain the situation in Guatemala as far as the femicides go? It sounds horrific.

Hilda Morales Trujillo:

Are there any discernable patterns with the killings? Are they associated with women of certain backgrounds?

What are the usual distinguishing features of these femicides?

Are the majority of the killings thought to be sexual in motive?

Sergio Roberto Ortega, 46, tends the grave of his daughter, Velvet Madeline Noemi Ortega Castillo, who was 25 when she was raped and beaten to death for not paying protection money to the local gang. Her grave is in the cemetery of Las Flores.

In what way is the problem of femicide in Guatemala similar to the murders of women in Mexico? Do you see the two trends being part of a wider pattern?

What are the key factors that you think are resulting in so many killings of women?

OK. I guess that ties in with the fact that a very small number of these crimes lead to prosecutions or jail sentences. Why is it that so few of these cases result in criminal charges?

Maria Elva Palma, right, grieves for her daughter, Santos Marlene Flores, who was brutally murdered by a policeman. The victim’s father, Alberto Antonio, left, holds a photograph of his daughter. In the centre sits Santos’ sister, Areely Gomez de Hernandez, 40, who witnessed the killing. The family are still living in the house where she was slain.

So, essentially, as well as the atmosphere of impunity, it is the general gender inequalities that you think contribute to these deaths?
Of course I do. There are large inequalities manifested through misogyny and the exclusion of women from directorial roles and positions of authority. At this moment in time there isn’t a single female cabinet minister. Out of 158 members of parliament only 19 are women. In the Supreme Court of Justice, out of 13 magistrates, only one is a woman. That is in spite of the fact that women in Guatemala make up more than 51 percent of the population and that many of us have broken free of the tradition of staying at home and living the conservative norm. Whatever it may cost, we have found ourselves ready to fill whatever role, within the state and private sector. How are these problems being addressed by the government?
With the current government we’ve seen a few signs of them starting to tackle the problem. For example, the government interior and security ministries have been compiling visible statistics of the problem at hand, and is attempting to combat it. In Congress in 2008, the female members of parliament, with help from women’s organisations of the civil society, pushed forward the law against femicide and other forms of violence against women. The department of women does its best to attend to cases of violence against women, but its range is very limited. The Supreme Court of Justice has manifested that it will create three courts to specialise in crimes against women, but we still have to wait to see if that comes through.

Photos: Angela Catlin