A femicide every 44 hours was reported in Ecuador

This was the most violent year against girls and women in the country.

According to a report published by the Latin American Association for Alternative Development (ALDEA), in Ecuador, 2021 was the year with the highest rate of violence against women and girls in the country.

Since the entry into force of femicide as a crime defined in the Ecuadorian Constitution, a high number of adolescents, women and girls have been murdered for reasons related to their gender, these include categories such as: femicides, transfemicides and violent deaths by organized crime.

According to the COIP, in its Article 141, it explains that “The person who, as a result of power relations manifested in any type of violence, kills a woman for the fact of being a woman or because of her gender, will be sanctioned with imprisonment from 22 to 26 years”.

The situation has been aggravated, especially because according to the figures, this type of violent crime against women occurs in 21 of the 24 provinces of Ecuador. In Guayas, 40% of femicides were reported, this being the province with the highest number of cases in 2021, second to the province of Pichincha with 18 cases, Los Ríos with 17 cases and Manabí 16.

According to the association’s report, half of the victims this year were under 35 years of age, 14 victims were minors, and 99 victims were mothers at the time of their murder, so as a result of this social problem, 197 children and adolescents became orphans.

Of this total, 43 victims had reported having suffered a history of violence and 9 had help tickets before being killed with firearms, sharp objects or others.

The figures are alarming, stressed ALDEA representatives, emphasizing the fact that, in 91 of the cases, the perpetrators were people close to the intimate or family life of the women; The key to preventing more events of this type from becoming just statistics would be to promote programs focused on prevention and an immediate response in cases of violence, which is why they ask for greater commitment from the authorities.