El Salvador: Thousands of Women March for Abortion Rights, High Femicide Rates

Women have marched in the streets of El Salvador's capital, clamoring for abortion rights and a better response against high femicide rates in the country.

According to BBC, El Salvador currently has one of the strictest abortion laws in the world. Women in El Salvador can be jailed for having an abortion even if their lives are at risk or raped. On top of the strict abortion law in the country, El Salvador is also one of the most dangerous countries for women.

On Sunday, around 2,000 women marched in San Salvador to demand the legalization of abortion in some cases, such as rape, where the fetus is not viable, or if the woman's life is at risk.

The protesters also called the administration of President Nayib Bukele to do more to protect women from violence, citing a number of women whose bodies were found buried in mass graves.

Some of the protesters carried banners that read: "They tried to bury us, but they didn't know they'd planted a seed." They demonstrated in anticipation of International Women's Day on March 8.

According to AFP, many women were prosecuted after seeking medical help for pregnancy complications or suspected of attempting an abortion. At least a dozen women are currently facing sentences for termination of pregnancy.

Abortion Rights in El Salvador

El Salvador imposes one of the world's most "draconian" anti-abortion laws. For more than 20 years, it had criminalized abortion in all circumstances, even when needed to save a woman's life.

Experts noted that the absolute prohibition of abortion has led to a "systemic practice of discrimination against women who suffer obstetric emergencies or pregnancy loss due to complications," according to the United Nations.

The United States also described El Salvador's anti-abortion laws as "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment," which led to revictimization.

Women can be charged with the crime of aggravated homicide and sentenced to prison terms of up to 50 years without any respect for guarantees of due process under El Salvador's current framework.

The U.N. also stated that absolute prohibition on abortion violates women's human rights and counteracts the obligations to protect their dignity.

The U.N. has recommended that El Salvador's government's legislative and executive branches decriminalize the termination of pregnancy and ensure safe and legal abortion services in some cases.

Femicide Rates in El Salvador

The country has reported that 67.4 percent of women have experienced at least one instance of gender-based violence in their lifetimes, while 45.8 percent of women under 30 reported being abused within the last 12 months.

In El Salvador, one woman is murdered by a man every 24 hours, which makes the country the highest rate of femicide globally, according to a Yale International Studies in March 2020.

A 2018 study also found that only five percent of femicide cases brought to court end in a sentence, and only three percent of cases carry a guilty verdict.

Femicide in El Salvador is driven by an "ingrained culture of virulent machismo," high rates of gang and narco-violence, as well as a corrupt police force.

Abigail Alvarado, a student at the state-run University of El Salvador, said femicides must stop, adding that women have a right to a safe life.

In 2021, there have been 97 femicides reported in El Salvador, with the previous year recording 130.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Jailed for Abortion in El Salvador - From CBS News