WUNRN
Gender Excerpts of Guatemala Report:
Violence Against Women
25. Violent deaths of women
continued to increase in 2008, totallying 722 compared to 590 deaths in 2007,
reports the National Civilian Police.
26. The Congress approved on 9 April
2008 a new "Law against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence against
Women" which criminalizes gender-based physical, psychological, sexual and
economic violence in the private and public spheres. This law filled various
legal gaps and established a set of measures to prevent and punish these forms
of violence against women's rights to life and integrity. In order to provide the
victims with adequate protection, the authorities must produce without delay
the uniform, clear and coordinated institutional guidelines for the full
implementation of the law.
27. Since the entry into force of
the law, complaints and requests for protection measures increased
significantly. While some measures to address these complaints were
strengthened, the training of justice officials on the special characteristics
of investigating and punishing violence against women was carried out primarily
in the capital, reaching only 10% of the personnel. As a result, the
specialized justice system was only partially implemented and has failed to
achieve an articulated and effective response so far.
28. In 2008, 37,358 complaints were
filed as domestic violence. Under the new law, 18 cases were filed for
femicide, and 1,853 for violence against women. The real extent of violence
against women continues to be unknown as the figures registered by the relevant
institutions differ and not all crimes are being reported.
29. The High Commissioner welcomes
the new Law against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence against Women. She
encourages the State to pursue its efforts to enhance the protection of women
against violence through immediate, exhaustive and impartial investigations,
trial of perpetrators and reparation of victims.
Only contributions submitted in one of the United Nations official languages are admissible and posted on this webpage Date of consideration: Tuesday 6 May 2008
http://www.ohchr.org:80/EN/HRBodies/UPR/PAGES/GTSession2.aspx Important: Click Website Link FIRST to access Reports. |
||
Excerts - Gender - From Report of
the Working Group on the UN Universal Periodic Review Report on GUATEMALA:
DIALOGUE
*53. '"Concerning racial and
gender discrimination, Guatemala mentioned the coordination among State bodies
to raise awareness of such issues. ....National policies and practices are
being strengthed with the support of the Presidential Commission on Women which
put forward an initiative for the complete protection of woman and also a
programme, based on the Beijing Platform, to give more opportunities to women
to participate in culture, politics, and education."
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMENDATIONS
*41."Reduce illiteracy rates,
in particular among women.
*6. Continue human rights education
to all Guatemalans, in order for this generation and future generations to
leave behind forever the culture of violence inherited from years of internal
armed conflict."
13."Commit on improving the
situation of indigenous children, in particular as concerns ill-treatment,
trafficking, child labour, illegal adoptions and difficulty in accessing
schools and health-care services."
*15."Implement fully the new
law on femicide and ensure that the physical security of women is protected by
implementing CEDAW recommendations and follow up the CEDAW recommendations to
Guatemala to ensure that indigenous women have full access to bilingual
education, health services and credit facilities and to fully participate
in decision making processes."
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.