Gendered Necropolitcs: Inequalities and Femicides in Central America

Abstract

Central America is one of the most violent regions in the world outside of an open war zone, with countries like El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala presenting some of the highest homicide rates (UNODC 2019). As a result of this deadly process, El Salvador and Honduras also have the highest femicide rate in the world (Small Arms Survey 2016). Globally, El Salvador and Honduras stand out with rates of more than ten female homicides per 100,000 women. The level of violence affecting women in El Salvador and Honduras exceeds the combined rate of male and female homicides in some of the 40 countries with the highest murder rates in the world (Small Arms Survey 2016). Guatemala is also among the ten countries with the highest femicide rates on the planet. As a regional tendency, female homicides have increased at a higher rate than male homicides during the first two decades of the twentieth century (Menjívar and Walsh 2017; Programa Estado de la Nación 2021).