The Uneven Impacts of Violence against Women Reform in Guatemala: Intersecting Inequalities and the Patchwork State
In 2008 Guatemala passed legislation criminalizing various forms of violence against women and mandating the creation of courts that would specialize in such violence. This article demonstrates that these reforms’ impacts were unevenly felt, with the most marginalized benefiting the least. It explai...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Latin American Research Review |
| Online Access: | https://larrlasa.org/articles/636 |
| _version_ | 1811323968581271552 |
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| author | Erin Beck |
| author_facet | Erin Beck |
| author_sort | Erin Beck |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2008 Guatemala passed legislation criminalizing various forms of violence against women and mandating the creation of courts that would specialize in such violence. This article demonstrates that these reforms’ impacts were unevenly felt, with the most marginalized benefiting the least. It explains this gap by drawing on a historical intersectional analysis, and reveals the importance of including place alongside more commonly studied categories of difference. It also illuminates the sources of the gaps between policies and their impacts. It finds that many Guatemalan women remained marginalized from security and justice, despite attempts to protect them, for two reasons. First, the reforms isolated violence against women from other structural sources of inequality, thus undercutting their impacts for multiply marginalized women. Second, the reforms’ impacts were undermined by historically constituted patterns of state-society relations and the uneven nature of the Guatemalan state. Resumen En 2008 Guatemala aprobó legislación que criminaliza varias formas de violencia contra la mujer y manda la creación de tribunales que se enfoquen exclusivamente en la violencia contra la mujer. Este artículo demuestra que los impactos de estas reformas se dieron de manera dispareja y que los que se beneficiaron menos fueron los que de por sí ya están más marginados. Para explicar esta brecha se usa un análisis interseccional histórico y revela la importancia de incluir el lugar junto con las categorías de diferencia más comúnmente estudiadas. También ilustra las raíces de las brechas que existen entre las políticas públicas y sus impactos. Concluye que muchas mujeres guatemaltecas siguen siendo marginadas de la seguridad y la justicia a pesar de los intentos de protegerlas, por dos razones. Primero, las reformas aíslan a la violencia contra la mujer de otras fuentes estructurales de inequidad, debilitando así el impacto de las reformas para las mujeres que sufren múltiples marginaciones. Segundo, los impactos de las reformas fueron socavado por los patrones históricamente constituidos de las relaciones entre el Estado y la sociedad y por la naturaleza dispareja del Estado guatemalteco. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:04:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d46ae761dae2474dab4f99bee38ab520 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1542-4278 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:04:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Latin American Research Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-d46ae761dae2474dab4f99bee38ab5202022-12-22T02:43:56ZengCambridge University PressLatin American Research Review1542-42782021-03-0156110.25222/larr.636339The Uneven Impacts of Violence against Women Reform in Guatemala: Intersecting Inequalities and the Patchwork StateErin Beck0University of OregonIn 2008 Guatemala passed legislation criminalizing various forms of violence against women and mandating the creation of courts that would specialize in such violence. This article demonstrates that these reforms’ impacts were unevenly felt, with the most marginalized benefiting the least. It explains this gap by drawing on a historical intersectional analysis, and reveals the importance of including place alongside more commonly studied categories of difference. It also illuminates the sources of the gaps between policies and their impacts. It finds that many Guatemalan women remained marginalized from security and justice, despite attempts to protect them, for two reasons. First, the reforms isolated violence against women from other structural sources of inequality, thus undercutting their impacts for multiply marginalized women. Second, the reforms’ impacts were undermined by historically constituted patterns of state-society relations and the uneven nature of the Guatemalan state. Resumen En 2008 Guatemala aprobó legislación que criminaliza varias formas de violencia contra la mujer y manda la creación de tribunales que se enfoquen exclusivamente en la violencia contra la mujer. Este artículo demuestra que los impactos de estas reformas se dieron de manera dispareja y que los que se beneficiaron menos fueron los que de por sí ya están más marginados. Para explicar esta brecha se usa un análisis interseccional histórico y revela la importancia de incluir el lugar junto con las categorías de diferencia más comúnmente estudiadas. También ilustra las raíces de las brechas que existen entre las políticas públicas y sus impactos. Concluye que muchas mujeres guatemaltecas siguen siendo marginadas de la seguridad y la justicia a pesar de los intentos de protegerlas, por dos razones. Primero, las reformas aíslan a la violencia contra la mujer de otras fuentes estructurales de inequidad, debilitando así el impacto de las reformas para las mujeres que sufren múltiples marginaciones. Segundo, los impactos de las reformas fueron socavado por los patrones históricamente constituidos de las relaciones entre el Estado y la sociedad y por la naturaleza dispareja del Estado guatemalteco.https://larrlasa.org/articles/636 |
| spellingShingle | Erin Beck The Uneven Impacts of Violence against Women Reform in Guatemala: Intersecting Inequalities and the Patchwork State Latin American Research Review |
| title | The Uneven Impacts of Violence against Women Reform in Guatemala: Intersecting Inequalities and the Patchwork State |
| title_full | The Uneven Impacts of Violence against Women Reform in Guatemala: Intersecting Inequalities and the Patchwork State |
| title_fullStr | The Uneven Impacts of Violence against Women Reform in Guatemala: Intersecting Inequalities and the Patchwork State |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Uneven Impacts of Violence against Women Reform in Guatemala: Intersecting Inequalities and the Patchwork State |
| title_short | The Uneven Impacts of Violence against Women Reform in Guatemala: Intersecting Inequalities and the Patchwork State |
| title_sort | uneven impacts of violence against women reform in guatemala intersecting inequalities and the patchwork state |
| url | https://larrlasa.org/articles/636 |
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