Honduran femicides are murders committed against women within the Central American country of Honduras since 1990. Between 2002 and 2013, 3,923 women were murdered.
Contents
- Femicides
- Rape and murder of Riccy Mabel Martnez
- Murder of the environmentalist Blanca Jeanette Kawas
- Murder of Miss World Honduras 2014
- Contract Killing in Honduras
- National Penal Code Reforms
- Causes
- Unit for the Investigation of Femicides
- References
In 2013, 53 women were murdered each month and, as with other homicide investigations, more than 90% of these cases remained unprosecuted. Before the murder is carried out, the women were frequently burned, raped and tortured. Between 2010 and 2013 the number of murders increased by 65%.
The local and national authorities have been publicly accused of inaction, as those responsible for these crimes, in many cases, go unidentified.
There are few governmental and non-governmental organizations that offer support to the mothers and family victims of femicide.
Femicides
As in the greater part of homicides committed in Honduras, the femicides continue to occur due to lack of investigation and judicial process.
Rape and murder of Riccy Mabel Martínez
Riccy Mabel Martínez Sevilla, born in The Ceiba Caribbean region of Honduras, was a third-year student of Education at the Escuela Normal Mixta Pedro Nufio in Tegucigalpa.
Her boyfriend, Rubén Hurtado Padilla, had been drafted to complete compulsory military service, leading Riccy Mabel to visit the Battalion of Communications in the outskirts of Tegucigalpa to request the release of her boyfriend. That same day Riccy disappeared. According to the forensic examinations carried out by the FBI, she had been raped and murdered by at least four men.
Her body was found on 15 July 1991 alongside an arroyo. One of the principal suspects in the rape and murder was Colonel Ángel Castillo Maradiaga.
A key witness to the crime was Esteban García, an ice cream vendor, who affirmed to have seen the teenager inside of an automobile identical to that of the colonel, however several days before he was to have given his testimony, he suffered fatal wounds in an apparent gang robbery.
Murder of the environmentalist Blanca Jeanette Kawas
Blanca Jeanette Kawas was a Honduran environmental activist known for her role in the preservation of more than 400 species of flora and fauna during her final years leading to her murder. She carried out actions against the government of Carlos Roberto Reina Idiáquez due to the granting of land titles to farmers and business entrepreneurs in the Punta Sal reserve, today known as the Jeanette Kawas National Park.
Two days after the protest of 6 February 1995, Jeanette Kawas was found in her house at 7:45 PM murdered by fire arm by two unidentified suspects in the neighborhood of El Centro, in Tela, Atlántida. Amongst the murder suspects are Colonel Mario Amaya (known as "Tigre Amaya"), who would have met with Sergeant Ismael Perdomo and Mario Pineda (also known as "Chapin") at the police headquarters in Tela.
Murder of Miss World Honduras 2014
In November of 2014, adolescent María José Alvarado and her sister Sofía Trinidad were murdered at a party while celebrating the birthday of Sofía's ex-boyfriend. Her boyfriend Plutarco Ruíz was identified by witnesses as the author of the murder and he eventually confessed to the crime. Having been declared culpable, his sentence would reach between 60 to 80 years. He was sentenced 12 November 2015.
Contract Killing in Honduras
One of the most common forms of murdering women in Honduras is carried out by contract killers, who shoot the women either inside or outside of their dwellings and then escape.
National Penal Code Reforms
In February 2013, the National Congress of Honduras approved a reform in the national penal code which classified femicide as a felony carrying sentences of up to 40 years in prison.
Causes
The causes of the high level of femicides in Honduras are varied, although one of the principal causes is the lack of legal repercussions. Ninety percent of murders go without investigation, consequently the number of femicides continues to grow.
Unit for the Investigation of Femicides
In 2015, the government of Honduras earmarked 30 million Honduran lempiras to the creation of a special unit in the 2016 budget for the investigation into the femicides.