Honduran Women Murdered by Their Partners at Alarming Rates

Every 23 hours, a woman violently loses her life in Honduras, said on Tuesday, the director of the Violence Observatory of the National Autonomous University, Migdonia Ayestas.

RELATED:
Progressives Condemn Murder of Peasant Leader in Honduras

In the first month of 2020, there were more than 31 victims, and their partners killed 55 percent, said the researcher, quoted by Proceso Digital.

Ayestas explained that the fact that their partners committed the murders shows an "androcentric behavior" - in other words, that men believe they are the center of the world and the family.

She added that 98 percent of the femicides were left unpunished, which she explained by the little trust that citizens had in judicial authorities of the country - a higher rate than the one recorded the year before.

About 43.1 percent of the women murdered in 2019 were found in public streets. 

This phenomenon is also the result of the scarce employment opportunities in the country since, for many women, the husband is an invaluable source of revenue - a situation linked to centuries of patriarchy.

The average salary of women who manage to work represents approximately 67 percent compared to the wage earned by men under the same working conditions, capacity and professional experience.

Women account for just over half of Honduras' nine million people.

Studies show Latin America is home to 14 of the 25 countries with the world's highest rates of femicide - the killing of a woman because of her gender - with 12 women and girls killed daily in the region because they are female.