On Sunday, October 22, the #WomenLandPeace Delegation met with a number of inspiring women human rights defenders and #defensoras from around Honduras. These women shared their own challenges and experiences as activists in the country.
Jessica Sanchez gives context on the state of the penal code in Honduras:
- 5000 femicides from 2005-2015 – 18 deaths in 10 days
- Homicide rate raised 2.6%, 12 people die each day in Honduras
- 2014, increase in domestic violence 390% in 8 years, rape also increasing
- Access to justice by women still very difficult – not consulted on new penal code legislation
- Complete penalization of abortion, work against rights of women
- Only 6% of mayors are women, not given a voice in government
- 7% of victims find some mechanisms for protection, but does not prevent re-victimization
- 30 000 assigned to public prosecutors, but cases never seen – only 1.5% of budget, no investment in women’s justice
- 94% impunity for femicides – ultimately patriarchal, racist, political system – no justice for women
Shirin Ebadi discusses issue of impunity in the justice system:
- Supreme court wanted to eliminate femicide because not defined in penal code, never applied
- Domestic & interfamily violence targeted by organized crime – spouses, mothers, daughters at risk
- High % of femicides reflects data from UN, our research, court & justice systems
Meril Eguigure explains Women’s Platform:
- “Women’s rights are also human rights – I want to state it because when we demand access to justice, political participation, you’d think we’re begging or asking for a favour. Women’s rights are human rights.”
- Discrimination based on actions of public officials & decision makers
- No access to emergency birth control, abortions are penalized/forbidden
- Men dominate electoral commission & HRD criminalized – 3 major cases:
- Glades Lansa brought to court for support of woman who brought sexual harassment charges against boss – killed within 18 months
- Suyapa Martinez lawsuit pending for work as human rights defender
- Miriam Miranda lawsuit as leader of indigenous women’s organization Garifuna
- UN recommends to ratify The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for faster trials, justice for violence against women, but ignored
Suyapa Martinez calls attention to militarization and violence against women:
- Calls situation for women in Honduras a citizenship of fear – can’t walk streets freely
- Exposed to rape, murder, sexual harassment with no help or protection from State
- Only gets worse as country militarizes – 6 armed groups, armed police, 2 types of investigative police
- High level of corruption within police, women reporting crimes threatened by gangs and drug traffickers
- Many cases with no justice – Maria Magrita, Berta Cáceres
- 13 year old education advocate killed for speaking to media
- 5000 femicides from 2003-2009, 514 deaths per year since the coup
- Huge defense budget increase and use of weapons up 67% with no arms control
- 8 years of violent deaths of women – 1326 entered justice system, only 202 had solution – impunity is 95%
- Few people trained to investigate femicides, no budget, contaminated evidence/crime scenes
- Need to review legislation, change structure, research, working group on femicides – no regulations yet
Jazmin Lopez discusses issues facing rural women and her own experience:
- Farmer & first young woman to lead historical organization
- Short childhood, cultural task of caring for others, “no one takes care of us”
- Survived massacre of small farmer movement in the 90s as a little girl – violent evictions
- Forced evictions in Santa Barbara – 38 families working on 59 hectares of land
- Struggling for rights since 15 yr old, colonialism takes history but not our roots
- 54% of population under age of 14 – extreme poverty, 86% of women no access to land, water, resource control or tech
- Women’s living conditions more precarious in rural communities, food sovereignty not security
- Criminalize right to protest, 10 rural women murdered this year so far – no investigations
- Destruction of crops & privatization of public health system further restricts rights of rural women
- Women without land are women without rights
Betty Vásquez describes issues around mining and environmental defenders:
- To be feminist, indigenous woman is to be doubly, triply penalized
- Worst mining law in Latin America, legal framework for extractivism=neo-colonialism, imperialism, militarism
- Criminalization of environmental defenders, projects imposed on people without consultation
- Massive migration, no longer the conditions for people to live in safety and security
- Disappearances and trafficking of young people, including 6 miners from Santa Barbara
- Criminalization by both state and municipal governments
- Mining concessions=35% of our territory has been given up for extraction
- Leaders, mayors, legislators, presidents – all implicated in drug trafficking and organized crime
- Defending environment is not only rivers & mountains but city streets – both rural and urban struggles
- Main goal to retract current mining law, go back to only traditional mining practices
Katrina Flores talks about the Mesa de Indignacion Progreso campaign against road tolls:
- “Together we are writing a new history of sovereignty” – KF
- Road sovereignty, connected to city, study, work, unemployment
- Built camps and had hunger strike for 11 days, pepper sprayed, jailed, and even brought in tanks
- Staying strong in camps & bringing lawsuits to claim road tolls unconstitutional
- From 2004-2012 right to enter/leave territory without tolls – land left from forebears and want to leave to children