Public Health Issue: Femicide

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Femicide is the intentional killing of girls or women, specifically by men, on account of the victim’s gender. It is a form of gender-based hate crime, a phenomenon that is preceded by other continuous forms of abuse including those of sexual or physical nature as well as emotional and economic forms of abuse. According to CDC.gov, public health is “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private communities, and individuals.” Femicide is a public health issue because it often leads to psychological and physical health concerns and implications, not just immediate problems but also in the long term. Femicide does not prolong life or promote health in any way or form. Therefore, it is regarded as a public health issue because of these reasons and due to the prevalence of the problem in populations. In Honduras, killing women on the basis of their gender has ran out of control, leading to a mass exodus of young women into the United States. It is a problem of sexism and machismo that has escalated to a national crisis, making the nation the world leader in femicide. Society creates gender stratification that easily turns into a culture and may have negative effects (CrashCOurse 2017). Femicide is a public health issue because it no longer affects individuals but has become a cultural “movement” expanded by a patriarchal culture as seen in examples such as Honduras.

Reframing what is usually seen as an individual behavioral issue allows for a public health commitment to address it. For example, catastrophizing a matter such as violence against women, of even deaths due to gender-based conflicts would shed a lot of light on the matter. According to France 24 English (2017), a woman is killed every 34 hours in Brazil. The death does not simply occur out of issues such as gang violence, but are instead a social construct of intentionally killing women by men because the victims are women. It is important that violence against women by men because of the gender of the former be reframed from mere homicides to a more catastrophized term, femicide. Reframing the problem, like any other behavioral issue, would add more stakeholders and thereby increase the chance of addressing the problem. For example, by highlighting the hazards of gender based violence, particularly femicide, more people would be aware of the issue. Violence against women perpetrated by men is made up of different acts, an issue that should be reframed as a catastrophe in order for it to garner the amount of attention and awareness required for solutions to emerge.

Veronica Gago highlights the importance of struggle for achieving public health and abortion and human rights as a basic human rights for women. She addresses the issues that are present, but not unique to, Argentina. By achieving public health and abortion and human rights, women would achieve their basic human rights, including freedom of choice and any other rights that must be accorded to human beings. Political decision making for individuals that have been historically excluded from politics is a major issue in Argentina, and most parts of the world. Women are not usually involved in the decision making process, even where the matter under discussion directly affects them on personal and communal levels. For example, the issue of abortion or even violence against women, should be addressed and decisions made while incorporating views from diverse groups, composed of different classes, ages, and views from women. According to Veronica Gago, such a process would highlight basic human rights for women.

Femicide and other forms of hate crimes against women and girls highlight the idea that in Latin America “la calle” is the social space of the Macho and no place for women. The depressive state of countries in Latin America and their rate of intentional deaths against women by men are worrying. Far beyond anything the world has witnessed, the situation in Juarez in Mexico, in Honduras, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, and other countries point to a social issue deep rooted in a patriarchal culture. Gender stratification has affected how people in these nations relate on the lines of gender. The man is supposed to be dominant in every aspect of the term, including by physically and emotionally asserting his will over women and girls. In Mexico, women are used as toys and tools of amusement, kidnapped, raped, and later brutally murdered. The Ni Una Menos movement highlights the plight of women in Latin American nations such as Argentina. The rates of femicide are so high that women are dying en masse, yet no action is taken to combat the problem. The society is largely male-dominated, including in the official political decision making lineup. Women are rarely considered as important and the Macho culture has led to a increased violence against women and girls. In countries like Honduras and Mexico, some of the crimes perpetrated are well known in terms of who and where. Yet, no action is taken to attempt to curb the issue. Therefore, Femicide highlights the idea that in Latin America “la calle” is the social space of the Macho and no place for women because it reveals the extent of a culture that is deep rooted to a point of seeing such actions against women and girls as a normal cultural aspects. In Juarez, special buses are provided to safely transport women at night, yet, even then, criminals find ways to attack and kill women as part of their amusement.

References

ABC News. (Mar 4, 2017). Femicide, Part 1: Honduras, one of the most dangerous places to be a

woman | ABC News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VERguOc0laECGTN America. (Feb 18, 2019). A defiant women’s movement rises up in Argentina.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyVA45RFdvsCrashCourse (Nov 7, 2017). Gender Stratification: Crash Course Sociology #32.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb1_4FPtzrIDW News. (Mar 9, 2020). Record feminist marches in Latin America protest femicide | DW

News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0DhT4KDArE

Global Health with Greg Martin. (Feb 6, 2019). Gender-Based Violence and Violence Against

Women – a public health issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzBjE_nvJ4wFrance 24 English. (Dec 1, 2017). Femicide in Latin America: Where simply being a woman

puts you at risk of murder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VTWkagHlIE

Journeyman Pictures. (Nov 28, 2014). Juarez: The Most Dangerous City For Women On Earth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJxVl64p4Iw

Let’s Learn Public Health. (Jun 15, 2017). What is Public Health??.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_eWESXTnic

TEDx. (Dec 8, 2017). Violence Against Women and Girls: Let’s Reframe This Pandemic | Alice

Han | TEDxBeaconStreet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Num0P3H7lUTRT World. (Oct 21, 2016). Latin American women protest Femicide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEvULwv9stATED-Ed. (Oct 15, 2015). What are the universal human rights? – Benedetta Berti.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDgIVseTkuE