This is the web version of Americanas, the newsletter of EL PAÍS América in which it addresses news and ideas with a gender perspective. If you want to subscribe, you can do so at this link.
Being a woman in Ecuador has never been easy. Gender-based violence is something that is experienced day by day, every day. It ranges from sexist comments, to harassment, psychological and physical aggression and even murder. 60% of the population still accepts and agrees with the violence that women receive on different occasions, according to UN Women. Thus, we are faced every day with living in a country with a deep security crisis where mistreatment is normalized and with it, impunity.
I remember that all my life I have grown up and lived in fear. Going out alone on the street, taking the bus very late because something could happen to me, or being harassed in different spaces. Not to mention the fear of having my phone, computer or backpack stolen. As I write this, I am becoming more and more aware that all my life I have been on my toes.
In 2021 I traveled out of the country to study a master's degree. I came back three months ago and everything had changed. Ecuador became the country with the most violent deaths in the region. Coming back has become a challenge. I feel like I've returned to another country: a more insecure, hostile and violent one. In which this violence has intensified and is even more prevalent against women.
As of November 15, 2023, 277 women were murdered for gender-based reasons in Ecuador, according to data from the Feminist Alliance for the Mapping of Femicides in Ecuador, an organization in charge of carrying out this monitoring. Of that number, 113 were femicides committed by her inner circle.
Now, for the first time in Ecuador, femicides committed at the hands of organized crime exceed those that occurred within the couple, 155 during the past year. Gender-based violence is related to the generalized violence that the country is experiencing. Especially for those who live in the coastal province of Guayas and its capital Guayaquil, where 27% of femicides occur and where this week we have been able to see live the violence that lacerates Ecuador.
I used to live in fear, yes, but I feel like now that has become more exacerbated. To the anguish of a robbery or harassment I now add the fear of going out. I'm terrified that I could be part of those "collateral victims" killed in the middle of gang clashes. And that, in reality, they are direct victims of violence. Is it normal to feel so horrified? Not at all. But it is a reality that we are confronted with every day, without exception.
Not forgetting that this is written by a woman who lives in the capital, Quito. Because being a woman in rural environments is even more complicated because they experience different forms of discrimination, violence and gaps. Nor do I want to forget those who live in cities taken over by violence. In which women live almost miraculously in contexts of constant danger. Nor do I want to forget the other vulnerable groups: children and LGBTI people. In 2023, 14 trans women were murdered in our country.
Now, I'm more cautious. I try not to take a bus or taxi after 18:00 p.m. The city is practically deserted after 19:00 p.m. When I walk down an abandoned street I feel nervous. A lot of times I prefer to go the long way, where there are people, than the short way where there is no one. Don't even think about an afternoon walk alone. Better to stay home or leave before dark. What if something happens to us? We are helpless. Like what happened to Nicole Ramos, who was brutally beaten by her assailant when she insulted him for touching her butt while she was walking. She was beaten in full view of everyone passing by.
Claiming what is rightfully ours has always been an act of courage. Defending the rights of girls and us women is a matter of social justice and human rights in a country where a woman is murdered every 27 hours. There is no damage or aggression, of any kind, that after so many years does not leave a mark on us.
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