UN Condemns Rise Of Killings
Of Women In El Salvador
SAN SALVADOR - Violence against women and
girls in El Salvador remains prevalent and
pervasive, with the number of murders on the
rise and kidnappings, sexual assaults and
sexual harassment all too frequent, an
independent United Nations human rights
expert has warned.
United Nations Rashida Manjoo, the UN
Special Rapporteur on Violence against
Women, wrapped up a three-day visit to El
Salvador on Saturday by stressing that the
Central American country still faces
significant challenges " in dealing with
gender-based violence.
Of particular concern to me is the growing
prevalence and forms of such violence,
especially the alarming rise in the numbers
of murders of women and girls and the
brutality inflicted on their bodies, which
is often accompanied by kidnapping and
sexual assault, " she said in a statement.
Ms. Manjoo expressed concern that the
violence against women and girls is taking
place in so many different settings.
Domestic violence, sexual abuse against
women and children in the home and the
community, violence and sexual harassment in
the workplace, particularly in the maquila
sector [factories operating in duty-free
zones] and the domestic sphere,
police-related violence and sexual
commercial exploitation " are all serious
problems, the Special Rapporteur said.
She said that although El Salvador has come
a long way in institution-building and human
rights protection since the end of the
12-year civil war in 1992, " impunity for
crimes, socio-economic inequalities and a
macho culture foster a generalized state of
violence, " as had been noted by her
predecessor during a visit in 2004.
Ms. Manjoo, who met with Salvadorian
Government officials, UN staff and civil
society representatives during her visit,
serves in an unpaid and independent capacity
and reports to the UN Human Rights Council
in Geneva. |
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