14ymedio, Havana, 17 December 2023 — The Attorney General of the Republic, Yamila Peña Ojeda, said at the VII Plenary of the Communist Party of Cuba, held in Havana, that at the end of October 2023, 117 violent deaths of women had been reported on the Island, according to the official newspaper Granma. This figure is higher than the 81 femicides verified by independent platforms such as Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo (YSTC) in Cuba.
The provinces of Matanzas, Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Granma and Guantánamo have the highest rates of femicide, although the official press has not reported these deaths, and only the Girón newspaper published – last November – the data on seven femicides that occurred in the capital of Matanzas.
“Seventy-five percent of these acts occurred in homes shared by couples. Meanwhile, 70 children and adolescents were orphaned by a mother after her death,” said Peña Ojeda, although she avoided defining these “violent events” as femicides.
The general secretary of the official Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Teresa Amarelle Boué, explained that the Council of Ministers approved a protocol of action for “situations of discrimination, violence and harassment in the workplace,” which she calls “a transcendental step in the attention to violence against women.”
Amarelle Boué left out important daily and social scenarios where violence against girls, adolescents, women, cis and transgender women is manifested
However, in her speech, Amarelle Boué left out other important daily and social scenarios where violence against girls, adolescents, women, cis and transgender women is manifested. The latter were not referred to in the statement by the FMC secretary nor by the Attorney General.
The analyses presented by Amarelle Boué and carried out by the Women’s Advancement Program show that, currently, 9,579 families live in a situation of violence in Cuba, including 16,116 women and girls.
Of the adolescents and women over 15 years old who are in these violent contexts, 60% are black and mulatto and under 35 years old. Their average schooling is ninth grade, and many of them are also housewives, economically dependent on their male partners.
Amarelle Boué also said that every month an evaluation is carried out to improve the statistics, which are not made public. The monthly assessment is chaired by the Communist Party and put into effect by the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministries of the Interior and Justice.
In 2021, the Cuban authorities announced the creation of a Gender Observatory that includes updated records of femicides and other expressions of sexist violence. Amarelle Boué currently presents its operation as an achievement; however, there is still no public system of statistical information on the subject.
According to the most recent Latin American Map of Femicides, disseminated within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Cuba is the country with the largest increase in the number of femicides
The director of the Gender Observatory added that communication about gender violence in the country has increased through the media and social networks. However, the official press maintains silence when femicides are reported by independent media and platforms.
According to the most recent Latin American Map of Femicides, released within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Cuba is the country with the largest increase in the number of femicides, going from 20 cases in the first half of 2022 to 50 in the same period of 2023, a 150% increase.
Paula Spagnoletti, one of the coordinators of the Map, in conversation with the Télam media, explained that according to YSTC and the Cuban feminist magazine, Alas Tensas, “there is an increase in verifications and not in the number of femicides, since there is no updated official figure that can serve as a baseline and reference point.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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