Gang Culture and Violence Against Women in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala

Abstract

It is commonly recognized that El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala are male-dominated societies in which young girls and women are subjected to some of the highest rates of gender-based violence (GBV) in the world. What is less recognized is gangs' contribution to these extraordinarily high rates of violence and the dimensions of gang culture and mentality that give rise to them. This paper first provides an overview of the larger phenomenon of GBV in the region then describes the particular phenomenon of GBV within gang culture, and the response of the Salvadoran, Honduran and Guatemalan governments to it.

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