By — Andrew Mach Andrew Mach By — Stephen Fee Stephen Fee Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/mapping-murder-around-globe Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Mapping murder around the globe: Why fatal violence is concentrated in Latin America World Oct 24, 2015 12:44 PM EDT Earlier this week, Honduran journalist Lourdes Ramírez was one of three women worldwide awarded a 2015 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation. Ramirez has reported for the past 20 years on “corruption, unspeakable violence, and unsolved murders,” the organization said, and as a result, “her family has been threatened, her employment has been terminated, and she has been forced to relocate and temporarily flee the country.” Ramírez’s experience as a female journalist is a microcosm of the danger in Honduras, especially for women. As shown in the map above, Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world with some 90 intentional homicides for every 100,000 people — 12 times higher than that of the United States. Using 2012 data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the map above shows the intentional homicide rate per 100,000 people in a given country. Alongside the rise in violent crime, Honduras has experienced a surge in domestic violence; 30 percent of Honduran women say they’ve been abused — and the murder rate of women is also among the world’s highest. Last summer, the violence led to an exodus of well over a hundred thousand migrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala — the so-called Northern Triangle — who sought refuge in the United States. Many of those fleeing were unaccompanied children evading gang violence and recruitment, but also women and children looking to flee domestic violence. Watch the full report on domestic violence in Honduras below. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Andrew Mach Andrew Mach Andrew Mach is a former Digital Editor for PBS NewsHour in New York City, where he manages the online editorial direction of the national broadcast's weekend edition. Formerly, Mach was a news editor and staff writer for NBC News. He's also written for the Christian Science Monitor in Boston and had stints at ABC News, the Washington Post and German network ZDF in Berlin, in addition to reporting for an investigative journalism project in Phoenix. Mach was a recipient of the 2016 Kiplinger Fellowship, the 2015 RIAS German/American Exchange fellowship by the Radio Television Digital News Foundation and the 2012 Berlin Capital Program Fulbright. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a native of Aberdeen, South Dakota. @andrewjmach By — Stephen Fee Stephen Fee Stephen Fee is a producer and on-air reporter for PBS NewsHour Weekend. Since joining the broadcast in January 2014, he's reported on the obesity crisis in Mexico, the safety risks of the US shale oil boom, and the debate over terminally ill people using experimental drugs, among other stories. @stephenmfee
Earlier this week, Honduran journalist Lourdes Ramírez was one of three women worldwide awarded a 2015 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation. Ramirez has reported for the past 20 years on “corruption, unspeakable violence, and unsolved murders,” the organization said, and as a result, “her family has been threatened, her employment has been terminated, and she has been forced to relocate and temporarily flee the country.” Ramírez’s experience as a female journalist is a microcosm of the danger in Honduras, especially for women. As shown in the map above, Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world with some 90 intentional homicides for every 100,000 people — 12 times higher than that of the United States. Using 2012 data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the map above shows the intentional homicide rate per 100,000 people in a given country. Alongside the rise in violent crime, Honduras has experienced a surge in domestic violence; 30 percent of Honduran women say they’ve been abused — and the murder rate of women is also among the world’s highest. Last summer, the violence led to an exodus of well over a hundred thousand migrants from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala — the so-called Northern Triangle — who sought refuge in the United States. Many of those fleeing were unaccompanied children evading gang violence and recruitment, but also women and children looking to flee domestic violence. Watch the full report on domestic violence in Honduras below. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now