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The escalation of violence and domestic abuse in Honduras has forced tens of thousands of migrants to flee to the United States in recent years. The Central American nation of eight million people led the world in 2012 in murder per capita after a military coup overthrew the Honduran president in 2009. The violence stems from drug trafficking that is produced in South America and is consumed in North America, according to current President Juan Orlando Hernandez. In order to quell the violence, Hernandez has deployed military police across the country, extradited drug traffickers and prosecuted gangs. The murder rate has fallen slightly in the last two years since the strategy was put in place. However, this decline has not affected one group in particular: women. The murder rate of women more than doubled from 2005 to 2013 and 30 percent of Honduran women say they’ve been abused. Accusations of government officials stealing money meant for aid programs to help women seeking shelter from their abusers have sparked weekly protests. “Honduras doesn’t care about women’s issues,” Anna Cruz, director of a privately funded shelter, said. The shelter, which receives no government assistance, helps abused women file criminal complaints. Maria Mercedes Bustillos, chief special prosecutor for the protection of women, is also critical of the government’s approach to stop domestic abuse and said it needs to provide a system of refuge for women. “What happens to a victim who is suffering extreme poverty on top of the beatings, the injuries, the confinement, the isolation, the manipulation?” Bustillos said. President Hernandez said he recognizes the government’s responsibility to do more for victims of abuse and pointed to pilot programs that work with local municipalities as signs that the country is headed in the right direction.Vocab
domestic violence
— violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner
trafficking
—trade or dealings in something illegal
endemic
— regularly found among particular people or in a certain area
patriarchal
— relating to or characteristic of a society or government controlled by men
Warm up questions
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Where is Honduras?
- What are some of the reasons people from Central America come to the U.S.?
- What do you know about gang violence in Central America?
Critical thinking questions
- What are some ways Honduras should seek to address domestic violence?
- What should President Hernandez’s government do to try to stem the corruption that prevents funding from getting to shelters that need it?
- How do the corruption and violence in Honduras help to perpetuate one another?
