By Bethany Reyna
Violence is becoming a major problem in Central and South America due to organized gangs corrupting the justice system and threatening local authorities. According to Amnesty International’s 2010 Report, 717 women were killed in Guatemala in 2009 and the majority of those cases went unpunished and unreported.
The United Nations reports that nearly 45% of Guatemalan women experience violence in their lives. Unfortunately, this percentage also includes violence committed against young girls. When Guatemalan girls hit puberty, some fathers confine their daughters to their homes to keep them safe, but this also prevents them from attending school. In response to this parental overprotection, some of the Guatemalan communities are creating groups that teach women and their families the importance of education and reporting cases of violence. These community leaders are convincing fathers to allow their daughters to attend school so that they can have access to knowledge and resources that may later save their lives.
PBS Senior correspondent, Ray Suarez, refers to Guatemala as the “epicenter of violence in Central America.” However, there are still numerous communities worldwide facing the same issues of community-wide violence. Awareness must be raised to help all women and girls living in violent communities to survive long enough to improve their communities; and hopefully help the generations of women after them.