EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 10 July 2023 — On Monday, the independent feminist platform Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTCC) raised to 50 the number of sexist murders registered on the Island so far in 2023, confirming a new femicide in the province of Santiago de Cuba.
This time the victim was Rafaela Yusmila Ramírez Chacón, 45, who was killed by her partner and found dead on June 21 in the doorway of her home, in the town of Baire, in the municipality of Contramaestre.
“We send our condolences to the sons and daughters who survive them, relatives and other close people,” the YSTCC activists wrote in a note released on social networks.
They point out that they are waiting to verify if they can classify as a femicide the case of another woman who died violently, also in June, in Santiago de Cuba.
They also report that in addition to the 50 sexist crimes they have documented in the last six months on the Island, there were two attempts at femicides and four cases that require access to the police investigation.
Three days ago, YSTCC activists and the gender observatory of the Alas Tensas collective confirmed another sexist crime that occurred in June, the month with the most deaths of women at the hands of their partners or ex-partners in the current year.
The Cuban government does not disseminate data on sexist violence, and the official media do not usually address these crimes.
These independent groups insist in their calls to the Island’s authorities that they declare a “state of emergency for gender violence,” and they complain that the Government has not taken measures in this regard.
The work of the independent feminist collectives, which have social networks and hotlines for victims, and their dissemination of reports in the unofficial media have contributed to putting the focus on cases of sexist murders and disappearances of Cuban women in recent years.
The activists advocate for a comprehensive law against gender violence and the implementation of protocols to prevent these events, as well as the creation of shelters and rescue systems for women and their children who are in danger.
Yo Si Te Creo in Cuba has highlighted that “nothing would have been possible without all those people who share content, verify data and provide support networks for survivors.”
Last April, President Miguel Díaz-Canel assured that there would be “zero tolerance” for sexist violence.
Last June, the official Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) presented the creation of the Cuban Observatory on Gender Equality, which includes statistics of “women who have been victims of intentional homicide as a result of gender violence in the last 12 months.”
The People’s Supreme Court reported in mid-May that in 2022 there were 18 convictions for sexist murders, all with penalties of over 25 years in prison.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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