Enduring Violence: Ladina Women's Lives in Guatemala

304 Pages·2011·0.93 MB·English

by  Cecilia Menjívar

Enduring Violence
Enduring Violence
Ladina Women’s Lives in Guatemala
Cecilia Menjívar
university of california press
Berkeley • Los Angeles • London
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University of California Press
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© 2011 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Menjívar, Cecilia
Enduring violence : Ladina women’s lives in
Guatemala / Cecilia Menjívar.
p. cm.
isbn 978-0-520-26766-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-26767-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Women—Guatemala—Social conditions.
2. Women—Violence against—Guatemala.
3. Ladino (Latin American people)—Violence
against—Guatemala. 4. Violence—Guatemala.
I. Title.
HQ1477.M46 2011
305.48′969420972814—dc22 2010037628
Manufactured in the United States of America
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on 50# Enterprise, a 30%
post consumer waste, recycled, de-inked fi ber and
processed chlorine free. It is acid-free, and meets all
ANSI/NISO (Z 39.48) requirements.
To
P. C. de Ch.
P. Ch. vda. de S.
J. A. Ch.
M. Ch. M.
M. A. Ch.
In Memoriam
U.N. Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence
against Women
article 1:
For the purposes of this Declaration, the term “violence against
women” means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is
likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation
of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
article 2:
Violence against women shall encompass, but is not limited to the
following:
(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the
family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the
household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital
mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women,
non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;
(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the
general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harass-
ment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and
elsewhere, traffi cking in women and forced prostitution;
(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or con-
doned by the state, wherever it occurs.
article 3:
Women are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cul-
tural, civil or any other fi eld. These rights include, inter alia:
(a) The right to life;
(b) The right to equality;
(c) The right to liberty and security of person;
(d) The right to equal protection under the law;
(e) The right to be free from all forms of discrimination;
(f) The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and
mental health;
(g) The right to just and favourable conditions of work;
(h) The right not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment.
United Nations, General Assembly, 85th plenary meeting,
20 December 1993; A/RES/48/104
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.htm
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
1. Approaching Violence in Eastern Guatemala 1
2. A Framework for Examining Violence 27
3. Corporeal Dimensions of Gender Violence:
Woman’s Self and Body 63
4. Marital Unions and the Normalization of Suffering 98
5. Children, Motherhood, and the Routinization of Pain
and Sacrifi ce 130
6. Women’s Work: Normalizing and Sustaining
Gender Inequality 163
7. Church, Religion, and Enduring Everyday Violence 195
8. Enduring Violence 226
Appendix 239
Notes 241
References 255
Index 273