Research Article

Viewing Gendered Violence in Guatemala Through Photovoice

Lynne Duffy1

Abstract This research examined rural and urban women’s experiences of gender-based violence in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Photovoice methodology was used to describe and analyze local realities and vulnerabilities, and ethnographic techniques added cultural and contextual factors. While the initial focus was on intimate partner violence, results showed that violence for women exists from childhood to senior years. Participants noted gaps in services and participated in a public strategy workshop to address these. Challenges and opportunities are presented around the enduring and complex global crisis of gendered violence. Photovoice is a powerful method for organizations to better understand and respond to local issues.

Keywords violence against women, photovoice, IPV, Guatemala, community-based research, university–community partnerships, lifespan violence

Violence against women (VAW) is a widespread social, public health, and human rights issue that occurs regardless of age, race, or social class. The World Health Organization (WHO; 2014) estimated that globally 35% of women experience inti- mate partner violence (IPV) and/or sexual violence. IPV can be more difficult to estab- lish than other crimes and in some countries is not considered an offense (Schweizer, 2011). Even where laws exist, underreporting is common, often due to cultural and religious beliefs along with lack of trust in police and justice systems. These factors contribute to its invisibility (Orpinas, 1999; Schweizer, 2011). Cases labeled homicide

1University of New Brunswick, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Corresponding Author: Lynne Duffy, Honorary Research Professor, Nursing Faculty, University of New Brunswick, 55 Lutz Street, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada E1C 0L2. Email: [email protected]

708058 VAWXXX10.1177/1077801217708058Violence Against WomenDuffy research-article2017

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could also be the result of IPV that may not be fully investigated and can skew statistics.

IPV affects the health of both women and their children. Women experiencing vio- lence are at higher risk for unplanned and complicated pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and other gynecological disorders such as sexually transmitted infections including HIV. Yet, family planning and other social support programs often fail to address this impor- tant determinant of women’s health (Guedes, Helzner, & Tabac, 2002). The physical and emotional effects of violence may not be visible, but can be severe and long lasting, including disabling injuries and a variety of chronic physical and psychological health challenges that last long after the abuse may have stopped (Campbell, 2002; Leslie, 2001; Vives-Cases, Ruiz-Cantero, Escribà-Agüir, & Miralles, 2011). A report by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) showed that in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries, between 41% and 82% of women experiencing IPV had serious physical out- comes, yet between 28% and 64% did not seek help or communicate their experience (Bott, Guedes, Goodwin, & Mendoza, 2012). The social and economic costs to individu- als, families, and communities are high (Modi, Palmer, & Armstrong, 2014).

There are multiple notions around IPV risk. McNaughton Reyes, Billings, Paredes- Gaitan, and Zuniga (2012) discussed macro-level risk factors of sexual violence in Central America that include “high rates of crime and weak social controls, which contribute to an atmosphere of high tolerance of violent behavior” (p. 84). These authors also implicated the elevated levels of poverty that may increase women’s eco- nomic and social vulnerability, along with normalization of VAW and the secrecy around childhood sexual abuse. The 1999 Guatemala Archdiocese Recovery of Historic Memory Project (REMHI; as cited in Hastings, 2002) noted that the high level of unreported cases of sexual violence during the civil war was likely related to stigma and cultural and religious values around purity and sexual intimacy, possibly resulting in shame and self-blame.

In Latin America, machismo is often considered an important cultural variable. It used to refer to “a family provider who has a strong work ethic and lives up to his responsibilities. However, machismo also fosters an exaggerated importance of male- ness, sexual prowess, and expectation of deference to men by women” (Weidel, Provencio-Vasquez, Watson, & Gonzalez-Guarda, 2008, p. 249). Heaton and Forste (2008) noted the strict gender roles in Latin America that result in “negative patterns of couple interactions such as male dominance and domestic violence” fueled by machismo (p. 183). Sagot (2005) viewed violence as “a product of social organization structured on the basis of gender and age” (p. 1292). Reimann (2009) identified the interrelatedness of femicide, sexual violence, and domestic abuse in Guatemala, with these having “similar root causes” (p. 1200) namely, cultural devaluation of women and the pervasive impunity that continues from the civil war.

Context of the Research

Guatemala is the largest and most industrialized country in Central America (Anderson, 2003), but high levels of disparity and oppression experienced by members of the 21

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indigenous Mayan groups result in four out of five living in extreme poverty. The remaining citizens are mostly of European descent, called Ladino (Ladina for women). Mayans have experienced over 500 years of oppression, exploitation, and death at the hands of Spanish invaders beginning in the 1500s and continuing under a variety of dictators. In spite of past and current economic and political oppression by the Ladino population, the Maya have preserved a strong ethnic identity including traditional val- ues and practices (Bertrand, Ward, & Pauc, 1992).

The country is still recovering from the brutal 36-year civil war that officially ended in 1996 with the signing of the Peace Accords. More than 200,000 were killed or dis- appeared a million displaced; thousands tortured, massacred, and raped; and over 400 villages burnt to the ground in a scorched earth policy (Hastings, 2002). Over 100,000 children lost parents (Anderson, 2003) and sexual violence was used as a weapon of war, mainly state-sponsored and sanctioned acts against indigenous women (Crosby, 2009; Hastings, 2002). With little government effort to operationalize clauses of the Peace Accords that would reduce social and ethnic inequality, new forms of violence by former members of the police, military, and paramilitary have emerged (Ogrodnik & Borzutzky, 2011).