House Passes Violence in Central America Resolution - Women's Congressional Policy Institute

On October 2, the House passed, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Res. 564) recognizing that violence in Central America threatens peace and stability in the region, and supporting increased cooperation between the countries of Central America and the United States to combat crime and violence.

Sponsored by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

Guatemala has experienced a surge in female murders during the past three years, with many of those murders allegedly committed by drug traffickers and other organized criminal groups; and
violence between partners, particularly violence by men against their wives or girlfriends, is widespread in Central America, and an International Violence Against Women Survey comparing selected countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia found that 60 percent of women in Costa Rica — often considered the least violent country in Central America — reported having experienced domestic violence during their lives.