Domestic Abuse

Article here.

This week's discussion about Latin American feminism and last week's Costa Rica presentation mentioning high levels of domestic abuse got me interested in the topic of abuse in general in Latin America. For some reason I assumed that it wasn't a huge issue in the region; however, this article (even though it's from 1998) brings to light how bad the situation is for many women. Domestic violence is actually a huge problem in many Latin American countries and the article sites the widening wealth inequality as a contributor. Physical abuse is more common among the lower classes while psychological abuse is rampant in the upper classes.

Long periods of civil war and social unrest teach children violence from a very young age, so Latin American youths, much like US adolescents, are somewhat desensitized to the horrific acts surrounding them.

I suppose all of these causes are rather universal, but I found the focus on Latin America interesting.