Eliminating Violence Against Women

“Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace. Violence against women both violates and nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The long standing failure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms is a matter of concern to all states and should be addressed.”

SHARE and our partner organization ORMUSA worked for a law to protect women from gender-related violence for many years.  In November 2010, the Legislative Assembly passed the “Life Free of Violence Against Women” law with 74 of 84 votes, a very wide margin. This law is a major achievement for the women of El Salvador.

Currently, El Salvador has the highest rate of feminicide in the world, with 129 assassinations for every 1 million women. Feminicide is the most extreme form of gender related violence, the murder of women and girls specifically because of their sex and gender. Feminicide is often accompanied by other forms of violence against women, including sexual violence, bodily mutilation, and victim blaming, and is especially brutal. SHARE and ORMUSA see the recognition of feminicide as a crime and the passage of this law as essential to making the problem of violence against women more visible and taking steps to change it.

The law will work towards a culture where violence against women is unacceptable by training public officials, including police, prosecutors and judges in gender equality and women’s rights. The law will also strengthen programs aimed at preventing violence and provide more resources, such as shelters, for women who have been victims of violence. These additional resources are desperately needed.

In a culture seeped in machismo and impunity, the creation of public policies that prevent and respond to violence against women is an inexpressibly important step in changing attitudes, behavior, and actions, and is an achievement that many fought hard to accomplish.

Learn more about SHARE’s advocacy work.

Read more about the passage of the Life Free of Violence Law.