Violence against women and gender-based violence continue to be a serious issue in Venezuela. According to the data provided by the monitoring of femicides carried out by the Digital Observatory of Femicides of the Center for Justice and Peace (Cepaz), there were 177 femicides during the first 8 months of 2021. During the month of August there was on average one femicide every 28 hours. These numbers are part of a deeply-rooted context of structural violence and discrimination suffered by Venezuelan women.
About the victims
Young women are more vulnerable to this type of violence. 45,2% of the victims were between 19 and 30 years old and one of the victims who was murdered during August was under 18. Additionally, most of the crimes were perpetrated by men from their own family or with whom they had a relationship.
Lack of governmental action
Despite the situation, the Venezuelan government continues to ignore the call made by different women’s rights organisations to work on a multidisciplinary public policy regarding violence against women in a coherent and effective manner. A structured national plan against gender violence has not been designed and the Venezuelan government has evaded its obligation to keep a detailed record of the femicides that occur in the country.
Collecting statistics is one of the most important elements of prevention, and yet in Venezuela it is not done. That is why Cepaz created the monitoring of femicides, which collects data from media sources, analyses it and makes it available to all institutions and citizens interested in preventing femicides.
Femicides of Venezuelan migrants
As of March 2021, there are 5.6 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the world, of which around 50% are women. Venezuelan women who decide to migrate become vulnerable to different types of violence against women and gender-based violence.
In 2021, there were 63 femicides of Venezuelans abroad, most of which were perpetrated in Colombia. Half of the aggressors have not being detained.
Receiving states must ensure that their migration policies implement a gender perspective and that they guarantee and protect the rights of Venezuelan women.
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Peace for Venezuela
Peace for Venezuela is a campaign that aims to break down the information bias surrounding the Venezuelan crisis within the international community and promote a stronger and more constructive role for the United Nations.