On September 5, 2024, the CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean hosted the 27th Annual CAF Conference at the Organization of American States, Washington, D.C. The conference, open to the public, gathered regional leaders, policymakers, and experts to discuss key challenges and opportunities for Latin America’s development. The Combatting Gender-Based Violence panel discussed the concerning situation faced by women in Latin America, where rates of gender-based violence are extremely high. The speakers proposed ways to combat this problem and improve standards for girls and women.
Michael Stott, Latin America Editor for the Financial Times, opened the discussion by noting that the 1994 Belém do Pará Declaration, adopted under the Organization of American States, was a pioneering legal framework codifying crimes against women and setting out stronger measures for prevention and policing. While it represented a high point for regional commitment, he underscored that Latin America and the Caribbean remains one of the most violent regions in the world, with stubbornly high femicide rates and one in three women reporting having been victims of violent crime, whether by a partner or a stranger.
Maria-Noel Vaeza, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean at UN Women, described gender-based violence as the most extreme expression of patriarchal systems and a grave public policy crisis. Every year, more than 4,000 women in the region are killed simply because they are women. Vaeza stressed the absence of political will and the need to address the intersection of organized crime and violence against women, including the use of women as drug mules, their victimization within criminal networks, and the high number of human rights and environmental defenders—most of them women—who are killed without adequate protection. She called for stronger civil society support, wider prosecutor networks for sexual violence cases, and work with men to address harmful masculinities.
Margarette May Macaulay, former president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, reflected on lessons from Jamaica and the Caribbean, where the women’s movement in the 1970s successfully pushed for gender-neutral protective legislation and innovations like free-access family courts. Laws such as the Child Care and Protection Act and the Family Property Rights of Spouses Act created new legal obligations to report abuse and ensured fairer division of property after relationship breakdowns. Macaulay warned of a growing number of women actively participating in organized crime alongside male counterparts, often driven by poverty, and noted an alarming rise in the brutality of violent crimes.
Alejandra Mora Mora, executive secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women, emphasized that the right to live free from violence was recognized just 30 years ago as a state obligation. She reaffirmed Belém do Pará’s value but called for stronger monitoring to ensure it is implemented effectively. Mora stressed the cultural shift required to reject normalization of violence, drawing attention to how perceptions—especially in the digital sphere—materialize into real-life consequences, such as female politicians withdrawing from online spaces due to harassment, diminishing their public voice and participation.
Eduardo Vergara, undersecretary of crime prevention for Chile, identified three key components for progress: better data, better programs, and better response. Chile has developed extensive security and gender-based violence surveys, which have helped reclassify crimes and elevate violence within households to a policing priority. Community-based programs, including partnerships with international violence-interruption organizations, are tailored to local contexts. Police reforms now integrate gender-based policies into training and operational priorities. Vergara noted that while most homicides of women are linked to interpersonal violence (about 45 percent), organized crime accounts for less than 10 percent. He highlighted the importance of addressing the pervasive fear that shapes behavior, and argued that reducing crime alone is insufficient without reducing fear itself.
The panel’s discussion underscored that combating gender-based violence in the region requires legal frameworks, sustained political will, cultural change, and targeted programs that address both prevention and protection. Integrating data-driven approaches, strengthening institutions, linking the fight against organized crime to gender policy, and challenging entrenched patriarchal norms were all seen as essential to making lasting progress.
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