Gender-Based Violence in Guatemala: An Ongoing Threat to Indigenous Women

• In Event: Political Violence in Latin America

Abstract

In Guatemala, popular approval of gender-based violence has decreased dramatically over the past decade. After years of hard-fought activism by local feminists, major domestic policy changes, and the transnational #NiUnaMenos movement, most Guatemalans now deem intimate partner violence unacceptable. However, despite this notable shift in public awareness, gender-based violence still continues to pose serious problems for Guatemalan women -- and it does not affect them all equally. Applying an intersectional lens to data from the 2023 AmericasBarometer, I argue that Indigenous Guatemalan women face a triple threat from gender-based violence. First, Indigenous Guatemalan women report experiencing gender-based discrimination at much higher rates than non-Indigenous women in Guatemala. Second, Indigenous Guatemalans are much more likely to say they approve of or tolerate gender-based violence, compared to non-Indigenous Guatemalans. Third, Indigenous women also tend to experience other concurrent forms of harm and vulnerability, such as poverty, crime, and natural disasters, which make it difficult for them to avoid, escape, or mitigate gender-based violence. Taken cumulatively, these findings suggest that despite some recent progress on gender and racial/ethnic equity in Guatemala, gender-based violence is an ongoing threat to Indigenous women in Guatemala. They face acute, ongoing discrimination due to their racial-gender identities, and they tend to live in communities with higher-than-average tolerance for gender-based violence. This implies that Indigenous Guatemalan women are at heightened risk of gender-based violence, and when it occurs, they are less likely to have the social, economic, and state-based support necessary to overcome it. In short, gender-based violence remains a violation of Indigenous Guatemalan women's rights and limits their ability to participate fully in Guatemalan society, politics, and the economy.

Author

• Regina A. Bateson, University of Colorado - Boulder