On May 1, the House approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Res. 100) condemning the murders of women and girls in Guatemala since 2001. The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the resolution on March 27 (see The Source, 3/30/07).
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) said, “This resolution that I introduced earlier this year would acknowledge the murders of 2,500 or more young women and girls that have been mutilated, attacked, assaulted, and killed in Guatemala. The murder rate for women and young women continues to rise there. It’s as though there’s a blind eye on the part of the government in Guatemala, as well as ours. That is why I brought this measure to the floor here. I think it is important that when a crime against a woman is done in any part of the world, it’s a crime against all of us and humanity.” She stressed the need for “transparency in government on the part of the Guatemalan government, and on the part of our government as well,” stating, “There must not be impunity. Everyone should be held accountable.”
Noting that in Guatemala “women are not safe to walk along the streets day or night,” Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) said that “a walk from home or school or work” could result in “abduction, mutilation, or death for a Guatemalan woman or girl.” He noted, “Given the lack of legislative protection and judicial investigation, women are often subjected to domestic abuse, often leading to death within the home as well…We must come together to assist their effort and urge the government of Guatemala to take quick deliberative action to investigate the killings and prosecute those responsible and eliminate the tolerance, the tolerance of violence against women.”
