When Laws are Not Enough: Violence against Women and Bureaucratic Practice in Nicaragua

Abstract

Despite the passage of numerous laws in Latin America, impunity in domestic violence cases remains a serious concern throughout the region. This article illustrates the routine practices by which gendered governance operates, as well as how feminist organizations disrupt patterns of bureaucratic indifference by assuming the banner of legitimacy that is rarely afforded to women victims themselves. These findings raise critical questions about the efficacy of traditional legal and bureaucratic strategies for eliminating violence against women, and suggest that one key alternative is to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations that provide accompaniment to women victims.

Practicing Accountability, Challenging Gendered State Resistance: Feminist Legislators and Feminicidio in Mexico

“…Menjívar and Walsh’s (2016, 2017) work on feminicide in Central America shows that resistance to enforce gender violence laws takes place through the deliberate use of competing laws that authorize gender discrimination. Even women-only police stations may exercise practices that put women at risk of further violence, contradicting the mandates of gender violence laws and policies (Neumann 2017; Santos 2004). Furthermore, a lack of state capacity affects women in gendered ways, preventing them from accessing justice (Lazarus-Black 2003; Menjívar and Walsh 2016; Neumann 2017).…”

“…Even women-only police stations may exercise practices that put women at risk of further violence, contradicting the mandates of gender violence laws and policies (Neumann 2017; Santos 2004). Furthermore, a lack of state capacity affects women in gendered ways, preventing them from accessing justice (Lazarus-Black 2003; Menjívar and Walsh 2016; Neumann 2017). Long case-processing times due to overburdened and underfunded courts frequently dissuade women from pursuing their cases, functioning as “structural deflection” to erode women’s substantive equality (Lazarus-Black 2003, 999).…”

The Making and Unmaking of Feminicidio/Femicidio Laws in Mexico and Nicaragua

“…Laws are especially ineffective in contexts of high impunity, as is the case in many Latin American countries (Menjívar and Walsh ; Neumann ). In a study on the sociolegal determinants of impunity in Guatemala, Menjívar and Walsh () conclude that progressive laws on gendered violence are unlikely to reduce crimes against women when passed in a sociolegal environment characterized by “multisided violence,” discriminatory laws, and widespread gender inequality .…”

Transnational Governance, Local Politics, and Gender Violence Law in Nicaragua

“…Yet the monthly salary of police officers working in the comisarías is only about $100, which is less than half of the government's own estimation of the monthly cost of living in Nicaragua. In 2013, I observed firsthand how low pay combined with a lack of basic supplies negatively impacted the work of police women in one comisaría in Managua (Neumann 2017). By 2016, most comisarías had been closed altogether, supposedly due to a budget shortfall.…”

“…The global consensus on the importance of eliminating violence against women has been insufficient to bridge the gap between lofty legal texts and everyday practices within the criminal justice system in many Latin American countries (Friedman 2009;Neumann 2017). Yet legal reforms remain one of the primary strategies employed by local and transnational feminist groups, as well as international development organizations, for reducing violence against women.…”