Two of the women who reported evil forces at work in their lives, Luz and Gema, turned to a priest or religious person to help provide spiritual guidance. Gema was abused by her husband when she left the home to work to provide for her children, and she was afraid that her son was beginning to emulate her husband’s habits of drinking, drugs, and abuse.
Gender violence has mainly been against Indigenous women, but the official statistics have failed to disaggregate femicide data by race and social origin (Abdullah et al., 2012). Ultimately, the Guatemalan government has failed to effectively safeguard Indigenous women’s right to live free from intersectional violence (Abdullah et al., 2012). Other results of the 2011 elections were that only 18 women (14.1%) won seats in Congress . The number of indigenous candidates, men and women, was 22 with only three women (1.9%). These figures show the gaps and asymmetries in gender and ethnicity that are a characteristic of the National Congress, a sign of exclusion and racism that are part of the Guatemalan society and political system. Representation of women at the local level, in the 2011 elections only 7 women were elected as Major . A more positive experience was the representation to the Central American Parliament , 6 of the 20 Guatemalan seats were won by women, and this is equivalent to 30%.
The prevalence of sexual assault and harassment; femicide; and intrafamilial, psychological, and economic violence against women in Guatemala is emphasized in recent research (The Advocates for Human Rights, 2017; Menjívar, 2008a, b; Musalo et al., 2010; Musalo & Bookey, 2013). Such reports evidence the presence of symbolic violence – a type of structural violence that exemplifies and perpetuates prejudices – linked to the devastating convergence of institutionalized misogyny and generalized violence in Guatemalan society (Menjívar, 2008a, b). This “normalized” (Musalo et al., 2010, p. 166; Carey & Torres, 2010, p. 142) violence has a centuries-long history at multiple levels, including the home, general society, and government; is exacerbated by impunity; and reinforces the subjugation of women (Musalo et al., 2010). Crimes against women, including DV, often go unreported due to lacking trust in the Guatemalan justice system (Beltrán & Freeman, 2007).
Outside of major urban centers, mental health care access is considered transitory and often dependent on the inconsistent labor of student interns . Only 18% of Guatemalan Maya people with a mental disorder receive any kind of treatment (mental health, other medical, and/or Indigenous healer) throughout their lifetime , and it is likely that Indigenous women have even lower levels of health service utilization. Although access to professional health services can improve women’s condition and reduce the risk of further victimization, Indigenous women in Guatemala can face many obstacles to receiving care. In developing countries, the financial burden of medical services on poor families greatly affects women (Sen & Östlin, 2008). Oftentimes a woman will rely on her male partner’s income for the necessary resources to seek professional medical aid; if the woman does not have the resources, she often turns to informal sources or more accessible community support networks (Heise et al., 2019). In countries with strong gender norms and inequalities, there can be barriers at each step that prevent women from receiving necessary care, especially for Indigenous women with low resources and suffering from mental health issues. There is currently scant research exploring Indigenous Guatemalan women’s experiences of gender-based violence and mental health outcomes, but existing research suggests further exploration in this area is necessary.
In Guatemala, you can meet Guatemalan girls of different ethnicity, mostly Mestizos and Mayan, and every girl will have her unique features. There are also ladies who look similar to Western women, but they are in the minority. Now, let’s figure out why exactly men find girls from Guatemala beautiful. Obviously, the first thing anyone will note is their appearance, but we can assure you that their personality is reed about pros and cons of marrying a guatemalan woman reed about https://latindate.org/central-american-women/pros-and-cons-of-marrying-a-guatemalan-woman/ also amazing. They will fascinate you with their mindset and attitude to life, but let’s talk about it in more detail. In fact, loyalty is one of those prominent Guatemalan woman traits and one of the main reasons why they are so popular when it comes to international dating. Dating a Guatemalan woman might be difficult for a Western man who has never dated a foreign girl before.
Given the post-conflict nature of the Guatemalan State a follow up is needed on the Peace Accords related to women, contributing to the consolidation of peace and respect for human rights. To face the new challenges that affect women like crime, social conflicts and organized crime, it also includes strengthening the security and justice sector. Panajachel is a Western highland town in the department of Sololá, with a population of approximately 16,000 . The region is considered one of the safest parts of Guatemala, but experiences of violence, particularly gender-based and family violence, are still common. Prior to the initial fieldwork period, a surge in kidnappings spurred the creation of a municipal security commission.
Other institutions are the Ombudsman’s office for the defense of women; Gender Units in each of the Ministries; and the Vice-President’s Special Cabinet for Women , with 17 member institutions. Special attention will be given to the Municipal Offices for Women – OMM – to respond to women’s demands at the municipal level and responsible for the promotion of women’s participation and development planning. Our findings are subject to three primary limitations regarding measuring violence. Secondly, even though our survey sample demographics were similar to those found in Panajachel, our rates of violence are likely not representative of the nation as a whole since the Department of Sololá is known to be one of the safest regions in the country.
Integral assistance is often inaccessible to a large portion of victims, and Indigenous women experience even more extensive obstacles to justice, including distance to courts, language barriers, and discrimination (Musalo & Bookey, 2013; Ruiz, 2018). During the fieldwork period, the security commission had coordinated with two psychology graduate students to provide counseling sessions to groups of children. These students worked with the lead investigator, as well, to provide counseling sessions to interested study participants.
The current study aims to explore the ways in which such an environment threatens the health, security, comfort, peace of mind, interpersonal relationships, and agency of Maya women. In Guatemala, specifically, access to health services that could help suffering men and women are severely limited. In 2002, Hannah Roberts reported that 40% of the country had no state mental health services, and the other 60% was served by only 44 state psychiatrists and 61 state psychologists . A national mental health policy was enacted from 2007–2015 that significantly increased the number of psychologists throughout the country, but overall availability of mental health workers remains low at 47.78 workers per 100,000 people .
In September, the minister of health resigned after weeks of demonstrations against the government’s handling of the pandemic and the collapse of the hospital network. Recent investigations of electoral and party finance corruption have shed light on the influence of unelected and illicit groups over the government. In July 2021, a US State Department report claimed that several individuals, including current and former Guatemalan government officials, are suspected of corruption. Elections at the national and local levels are competitive, and new parties routinely gain significant quotas of power. Guatemalan politics are unstable, and power rotates between parties frequently, which can discourage a traditional opposition from coalescing.
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