Remembering victims of femicide in El Salvador
All photos © UNFPA El Salvador/Gonzalo Bell
23 May 2024
Every 11 minutes, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member. Tragically, this kind of gender-based violence happens in every region of the world.
El Salvador is a particularly dangerous place to be a woman. Between 2019 and 2022, an average of 23,398 cases of gender-based violence were reported a year. There were 565 convictions for violent murders of women, with 319 cases determined to be femicide – an intentional killing with a gender-related motivation, driven by factors including discrimination against women and girls and unequal power relations between women and men.
UNFPA works in El Salvador and around the world as part of the Spotlight Initiative to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors. One key initiative in El Salvador is the Women at the Centre programme. Launched in April 2023, with the support of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, the programme trains social workers to recognize women and girls at risk of violence and provide immediate support. It also operates in Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Madagascar and Zimbabwe.
This kind of initiative could not be more crucial, as illustrated by the following profiles of families who lost sisters, daughters and mothers to femicide in El Salvador. Here, they share their stories, along with one brave survivor whose life will never be the same.
"No woman should die for being a woman."
Rosa: “An inspiration”
Dr. Rosa María Bonilla Vega was killed by her husband on 23 January 2018. She had always been close to her family, but she hadn’t told them her spouse was violent. Her family learned of it only when she died.
At the time of her murder, Rosa, 45, was working as a medical doctor. As part of her job, she provided care to girls who had been abused.
Her family members describe her as intelligent, creative, jovial and charismatic. “She was a positive person who was loved and appreciated,” says her mother, María. Rosa’s murderer was convicted and sentenced to 50 years.
María says her daughter is an inspiration. “As her family, we are inspired by her not to remain in pain, but to do something good in her memory.”
Rosa’s son fights for justice in memory of his mother.
Flowers on Rosa’s grave.
Rosa loved spending time with her family and taking walks in nature.
Laughter and joy you brought to our home,
You will always be in our hearts, my dearest daughter.
My life is no longer the same without you.
Cenia: “She was always cheerful”
Cenia Edelmira Rodas Ventura, a trader, was 31 years old when her husband is believed to have murdered her, in front of her 7-year-old daughter, in the city of San Vicente, on 26 December 2013.
Cenia’s husband evaded justice. After the fatal shooting of his wife, he turned the gun on himself and was hospitalized with critical injuries. He was due to face detention upon his recovery, but he managed to flee to the United States.
“All her life, Cenia was confident, talkative and cheerful,” says Aunt Elena. “I’m a seamstress, and Cenia would come and say: ‘Aunty, make me this or that, because I want it for such and such a thing.’”
Cenia’s grandfather misses the chats he had with his granddaughter.
Aunt Elena lovingly tends to Cenia’s grave.
Lorena: “The heart of the family”
Lorena Beatriz Hernández Quintanilla, an officer with the National Civil Police (PNC), was 25 when she was found dead at a police station in Mejicanos on 31 December 2017. The PNC initially reported her death as a suicide, but an investigation revealed the truth: A fellow officer whom she was in a relationship with had killed her.
Lorena’s murderer was sentenced to 50 years. In El Salvador, thanks to a key law introduced in 2012, convictions for femicide carry a longer sentence than for murder, with prison terms of 20 to 50 years.
UNFPA provided support to women’s organizations working on the advocacy and implementation of the law. Under the law, prosecutors must prove that the motive for a woman's murder was hatred or contempt based on gender.
“Everything in [the family] home was bought by Lorena, and everything is as she left it,” says Lorena’s mother, Orbelina. “On her days off, she helped me in the house and made dinner.”
A pillow still lies on Lorena’s bed.
Orbelina brings flowers to her daughter’s grave.
Lorena’s younger brother Carlos says his sister was “the heart of the family” and “the pillar of our home, both financially and emotionally.” He adds, remembering his sister affectionately, “The thing my sister and I enjoyed doing together the most was eating!”
Melvi: “She was always smiling”
On 31 January 2019, Melvi Fernanda Nájera Quezada, 23, left for a day out, taking her son to see his father – her former partner. She never returned.
Melvi was found dead the next day. Four days later, her child was found abandoned and dehydrated. Her ex-partner went on the run and remains a fugitive. The family continues to hope for justice.
Melvi, or "Ferchi," as she was known to family and friends, was the youngest of four siblings. “She was a very sociable teenager and a young woman with many friends,” says her mother, María. “She liked to play softball and soccer and to dance.”
Melvi was training to be a cook and wanted to provide the best for her son Mateo.
The grandparents now take care of Mateo. A small store they run is named after him.
“The policemen who found my grandson Mateo when he was abandoned still visit him. The last time they came, they brought him a toy,” says Melvi’s mother, María, who notes that many other people have also helped provide for the child. “My daughter always wanted nice things for her son. She paid a very high price so that he could have them now.”
Jocelyn: “Women are not objects”
Jocelyn Milena Abarca Juárez was 26 when her partner of 10 years murdered her in their home on 5 July 2018. He is serving the maximum 50-year sentence for femicide.
Jocelyn, who had a degree in psychology, enjoyed helping others through her work. “She was always cheerful and smiley, a very charismatic person,” says her sister Elizabeth.
"I would like [gender-based violence] prevention to be a subject in school, so girls and boys learn from an early age to respect men and women, and so that they get it into their minds that women are not objects,” says Jocelyn’s mother, Yesenia.
“Jocelyn did everything with great passion,” says her mother.
“Wherever she went, she always shone,” says sister Elizabeth.
“My granddaughter was very affectionate and always looking out for me,” says Jocelyn’s grandmother.
Katherine: “He cut short your dreams”
Twenty-seven-year-old Katherine Lisbeth Cárcamo Chávez was killed by her husband at their home on 22 April 2018.
With a bachelor's degree in nursing, Katherine had a bright life and career ahead of her. “She was a giggly, mischievous and dreamy girl,” says her mother, Claudia.
Katherine’s murderer tried to leave the country to avert justice, but he was arrested at a border and later sentenced to 35 years for femicide.
Claudia holds a picture of herself and Katherine on her daughter’s 15th birthday.
Katherine’s mother looks through a photo album of memories.
Katherine’s grandfather visits her grave.
Merciless viciousness extinguished your joy,
And left my soul in pain and agony.
He cut short your life, cut short your dreams.
Remembering your magical essence – always.
María, survivor: “I remember I was cheerful”
María Ana Galdámez suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband, who is currently serving a 26-year prison sentence. He was found guilty of attempted femicide after a violent attack.
María, who was 52 at the time of the attack, spent a year in treatment for her physical injuries, and she continues to receive support to help her cope with the psychological impact. UNFPA has provided her with psychosocial support and has referred her to support for her livelihood and protection.
"I remember I was cheerful, very jovial.
Now I'm afraid to go out, I just hang out at work and at home."
Since her attack, María has managed to return to work, performing some light housekeeping duties. “Because of the damage to my hand, it is difficult for me to perform some of the tasks I used to do, such as sewing, embroidering and cooking,” she says.
María’s left hand has not fully recovered.
“It’s hard to recover the joy and confidence that I lost,” she says..
María loves being a grandmother.
Thanks to the aforementioned Women at the Centre initiative, progress will be made. The programme will contribute to change with initiatives including the establishment of five national accreditation systems for gender-based violence case management; 344 social workers accredited on gender-based violence case management; 18 locations in which case management is supported by operating procedures aligned with international standards; and 202 community awareness events.
