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Venezuela

, Against Her Will. Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Women Worldwide, Open Society Foundations, 2011

This Open Society Foundations fact sheet provides information on instances of forced sterilization of racial and ethnic minorities, poor women, women living with HIV, and women with disabilities in Chile, Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Mexico, Namibia, Kenya, Peru, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uzbekistan. It also provides recommendations for governments, medical professionals, UN agencies, and donors on how to end the practice of forced and coerced sterilization.

, ECLAC: At least 2,795 were victims of femicide in 23 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017, Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2017

Stressing the need to create inter-agency agreements, the 2017 Economic Commission for the Latin America and the Caribbean’s report on femicide shows that Brazil topped the list of femicides (with 1,133 victims confirmed in 2017). In 2016, Honduras recorded 5.8 femicides for every 100,000 women. In Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia, high rates were also seen in 2017, equal to or above 2 cases for every 100,000 women. In the region, only Panama, Peru and Venezuela have rates below 1.0. In the Caribbean, four countries accounted for a total of 35 femicide victims in 2017: Belize (9 victims), the British Virgin Islands (1), Saint Lucia (4) and Trinidad and Tobago (21). In the same year, Guyana and Jamaica — which only have data on intimate femicides — reported the deaths of 34 and 15 women, respectively, at the hands of their current or former partners. In 2017, the rates of intimate femicides in Latin America ranged between a maximum of 1.98 for every 100,000 women in the Dominican Republic, to a minimum of 0.47 in Chile.

Boothroyd, Rachel, Venezuelan women’s movement demand justice for feminicide of activist, Venezuelananalysis, 2017

Following the alleged murder of Caracas activist Sheila Silva,  feminists and women’s movements in Venezuela launched a campaign demanding authorities take decisive action against gender-based violence and femicide. The activists’ initiative was supported by the Venezuelan government campaign ‘Peace Begins at Home: No More Violence Against Women’. The campaign saw various public landmarks lit up in violet light by night, aimed at promoting debate about the decriminalization of abortion and family planning, and also the need to criminalise domestic violence. These are all long-term demands of Venezuela’s feminist movements.

See also https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Launches-Campaign-to-Counter-Violence-Against-Women-20171101-0030.html

Cannon, Barry, Coup or popular rebellion? The myth of a united Venezuela, Bulletin of Latin American Research, Vol. 23, no. 3 (July), 2004, pp. 286-302

Carroll, Rory, Comandante: Inside Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, London, Canongate, 2013, pp. 320

Gott, Richard, Hugo Chavez and his Bolivarian Revolution, London, Verso, 2005, pp. 315

Analysis sympathetic to Chavez, includes a section on the popular uprising following the 2002 coup.

McCaughan, Michael, The Battle of Venezuela, London, Latin America Bureau, 2004, pp. 116

Examines thwarting attempted coup by the right against Hugo Chavez in 2002. (See also the works under Venezuela in E IV.12)

Mesones, Rojo, It’s So Hard to Be a Feminist in Venezuela, Caracas Chronicles, 2019

Describes the feminist revolt in Caracas, Venezuela, seeking to bring attention to gender-based violence, and highlight the lack of statistics on femicides (which have not been updated since 2013) and the current obstacles to Venezuelan feminism.

Pasqual, Cira, Women and the crisis in Venezuela: a conversation with Gioconda Mota, Venezueananalysis, 2018

Venezuela veteran activist for women’s rights, Gioconda Mota, discusses the growth of feminist movements in Venezuela. She pays particular attention to how they have contributed to the improvement of existing legal frameworks on the issue of gender violence and women’s role in the economy, and how much work is still needed with regard to dissident sexualities and abortion. She also discusses the predominantly sexist nature of justice administration, and the lack of women’s participation in strategic spheres of power, despite the increased participation in communal councils, social organisations and committees. She also sheds light on the feminisation of poverty, due to the double burden of productivity and care on women. The interview with Mota came after a group of feminist researchers released a ground-breaking report on the situation of women’s human rights in Venezuela, called ‘Desde Nosotras’ (From Us), whose 250 pages reveal the key challenges facing the political, economic, health, sexual and reproductive rights of Venezuelan women today.

Pérez, Noemi, The ‘fallen’ Miss Venezuela: a tragedy of sexual slavery and trafficking, OpenDemocracy, 2019

Due to a political, economic and humanitarian crisis, Venezuelans are fleeing and leaving everything behind to reach safety. According to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, as the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela tops 4 million, this has become the largest migratory flow in the history of the American region. This long report highlights the conditions of Venezuelan women and girls who face sexual slavery and child exploitation, amongst many other threats.

Rojas, Rachel, Venezuelan women’s movement demand justice for feminicide of activist, Venezuelananalysis, 2017

Following the alleged murder of Caracas activist Sheila Silva, feminists and women’s movements in Venezuela launched a campaign demanding authorities take decisive action against gender-based violence and femicide. The activists’ initiative was supported by the Venezuelan government campaign ‘Peace Begins at Home: No More Violence Against Women’. The campaign saw various public landmarks lit up in violet light by night, aimed at promoting debate about the decriminalization of abortion and family planning, and also the need to criminalise domestic violence. These are all long-term demands of Venezuela’s feminist movements.

See also https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Launches-Campaign-to-Counter-Violence-Against-Women-20171101-0030.html.

Uzcategui, Rafael, Venezuela: Revolution as Spectacle, Tucson AZ, See Sharp Press, 2010, pp. 219

A critique of Chavismo from the libertarian left.

Wilpert, Gregory, Changing Venezuela: The History and Policies of the Chavez Government, New York, Verso, 2007, pp. 352

Supportive yet critical account of Chavez’s first term by founder of venezuelanalysis.com.

Zuñiga, Mariana, American court opens historic hearing into Venezuela rape and torture case, The Guardian, 2018

This article describes the case of Linda Loaiza López Soto, who was kindapped and repeatedly raped and tortured by her abductor for months in 2001, when she was 18 years old, after over 16 years of struggling for justice and exhausting all avenues in Venezuela. Her case was heard by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. It was the first case related to gender-based violence in Venezuela to be judged by the court. On November 16, 2018, in a decision with potential implications for survivors around the world, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the State of Venezuela is responsible for the torture and sexual slavery of a young woman, who had spent half her life fighting for justice.

See also https://womensenews.org/2018/11/after-17-years-venezuelan-survivor-finally-wins-justice/

For more legal details on the case see https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2019/12/05/gender-based-violence-as-torture-the-case-of-linda-loaiza-lopez-soto/