Femicide by Numbers
The pervasive culture of violence against women in Latin America has led to staggering levels of femicide. Though femicide is not unique to Latin America, 14 of the 25 countries with the highest rate of femicide are located in the region, and Latin American countries contribute 50% of femicides worldwide. This has led Latin America to be labeled the worst area in the world to be a woman. Violent deaths of women in Central America reach nearly 5.0 per 100,000 women, the highest in the world, closely followed by the Caribbean (3.8/100,000) and South America (3.6/100,000). However, these numbers only account for women whose deaths are confirmed and documented--many more bodies never even make it to the morgue to be identified. In addition, the incoherent policies of many of these nations make it so that many femicides are not identified as such, but are instead labeled homicides. Thus, it is likely that these numbers are significantly higher.
- Based on the above infographic from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), 225 Argentine women were victims of femicide in 2015, along with 90 from Peru, 97 from Ecuador and 183 from El Salvador.
- From 1985 to 2014, around 40,000 women were murdered in Mexico alone (23,000 in the period from 2000-2014).
- El Salvador is the most dangerous country to be a woman, as around one in every 5,000 women is a victim of femicide.
- Honduras has the third-highest rate of femicide in the world
- In both El Salvador and Honduras, the rate of femicide is higher than the combined male and female homicide rates in 14 of the deadliest 50 countries in the world.
- In Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica together more than 1,000 women are victims of femicide or other gender-inspired violence each year.
- Country by country data