Paradoxically, the month when the International Women’s Day is celebrated became one of the most violent for them in Costa Rica.
Out of the eight possible femicides reported during this year, six have occurred in March. Without a doubt, a warning signal from every point of view.
The most recent case was that of Kimberly Barrantes Pérez, 20, who was shot dead on Saturday inside her house in Cairo 2000 neighborhood in Siquirres de Limón. According to the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), the main suspect is a man named Campos, who was an ex-partner of the deceased. The mother of Barrantes was also wounded by bullets.
In the face of alarming cases, the Observatory on Gender Violence against Women in the Judiciary made a publication in which it stressed the need to stop this wave of violence.
WE CANNOT KEEP COUNTING FEMICIDES!
We asked you who is reading this publication:What have you done to fight violence against women? Have you replicated the memes that make jokes about women? Have you ever said that women get pregnant to handcuff a man? Do you think that a woman is responsible for a man hitting her, raping her or killing her because she cheated, answered badly or did not take care of him? Etc, etc (…) The list of chauvinistic actions, conscious or unconscious, is endless.
The fight against chauvinism, and for the record we are not saying against men, must be at all times. If you do not fight it, you are also an accomplice.
One thing we can be sure is that, if we continue counting femicides, attempts of femicide, rape, sexual abuse, among many other gender violence crimes, very soon, if not already, we or someone we know can be the next victims.
Then what do we do? What will be your contribution to the cause? If you have already done something, is it enough or can you do something else? How can we continue to believe that we are the happiest country in the world, while our women and their families are being violated? Costa Rica needs us!”
On Sunday, the National Institute for Women (INAMU) lamented what happened in recent weeks and urged a deep reflection by society.