Women Dismantling Militarism
Facts, Articles,
and Ideas from
the Global Fund's Militarism Initiative
Living with Militaries and Paramilitaries
The Impact of Militarism on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean
Context
Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, the proliferation of armed conflicts by both state and non-state actors has normalized violence, particularly extreme forms of violence against women. Militarism has become so much a part of the region’s fabric that the presence of armed forces or paramilitary groups is never questioned. Also left unchallenged is whether diverting state resources from social needs to arms is the best means to guarantee national security. As a result, the manufacture and sale of weapons is one of the most profitable industries in the region. Furthermore, the region’s political and social climate has grown increasingly conservative, while neoliberal economic policies have increasingly emphasized the free-market and private and corporate profit. These trends have created a very lethal situation for women’s rights and security in the region.
Impact on Women
Women in the Americas are disproportionately affected by armed conflicts and violence due to their vulnerability in society. Women’s bodies are targets for sexual violence and control through a variety of means, including clothing codes, public sexual humiliation, brutal sexual aggression, and regulation of women’s reproductive capacities. In the long run, state and non-state actors use these methods to control communities.
After decades of combating gender violence, women’s organizations in the Americas face the dual challenge of changing social norms that perpetuate violence while trying to stop policies and practices that violate women’s human rights. The following are among a long list of ways in which violence against women is used as a mechanism for control.
- In Colombia, over four million people—10 percent of its population—have been forcibly displaced by the ongoing conflict. According to women’s rights organizations, such as the Ruta Pacifica de Mujeres and Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas, almost 60 percent of all displaced Colombians are women. Armed perpetrators have institutionalized sexual violence against Indigenous and Afro-descendant women to control resources and territories.
- In the Caribbean, Central America and Brazil, in gang-controlled territories, in exchange for “protection,” women are forced into sexual exploitation, prostitution and to give sexual favors.
- Repressive states tend to use sexual abuse to control women who challenge the limits established by patriarchy. In Oaxaca, Mexico, what started out as nonviolent citizen demonstrations in support of teachers turned into a violent clash between demonstrators and the Mexican military. Women who were arrested later testified of the physical and sexual violence they endured which were on par with the worst days of the dictatorships in South America.
- In June 2009 the Honduran military overthrew the democratically elected President Zelaya and forced him into exile. Honduran civil society and the international community immediately condemned the coup and demanded the restitution of democracy. Feminist organizations in Honduras report that under the de facto military government, serious human rights violations have been committed against protestors, including sexual violence.
