The prevalence of violence against women in Guatemala today has its roots in historical and cultural values which have maintained women’s subordination. These circumstances were most evident during the 36-year internal armed conflict that ended with the signing of the United Nations-brokered Peace Accords in 1996. Of the estimated 200,000 people who "disappeared" or were extra-judicially executed during Guatemala’s internal armed conflict, a quarter of the victims were women.
The consequences of the internal armed conflict in terms of the destruction of communities, displacement, increased poverty and social exclusion has a bearing on levels of violence against women today as does the failure to bring to account those responsible for past human rights violations.
The majority of women killed in the past few years in Guatemala lived in urban areas of the country and were 18-30 years old. Many were abducted in broad daylight in front of witnesses. Despite the lack of detailed forensic information, significant evidence suggests that sexual violence, particularly rape, characterizes many of the killings. The brutality of the killings, with sexual violence and mutilation, bare many of the hallmarks of the terrible atrocities committed during the civil conflict. These atrocities have gone unpunished, and reveal that extreme sexual violence and discrimination remain prevalent in Guatemalan society.
Guatemala has the highest murder rate in Latin America with approximately 44 murders per 100 000 inhabitants.
According to the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office no arrests have been made in 97% of the killings of women and more that 70% of the cases have not been investigated.
Some observers have questioned or dismissed the seriousness of this problem by arguing the statistics are the same or similar to statistics for the killing of women in other countries in the Americas. Amnesty International believes, however, that the pattern of brutality, the sexual violence, which amounts to torture in some cases, and the increasing numbers of women killed require the authorities to pay immediate and urgent attention to the problem.
Claudina Velásquez was found shot dead on August 13, 2005 with traces of semen found on her body. She was a 19-year-old university student studying to become a lawyer. Serious deficiencies were reported in relation to the effectiveness of the investigation. “The investigator said they thought Claudina was a nobody because she was wearing sandals and a belly button ring” Claudina’s father said. A recent report issued by the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office on the investigation of Claudina’s case documents a seriously flawed process from beginning to end. The Ombudsman’s Office concludes that “the State failed in its obligation to respect and guarantee the right to life, security and due process.”