Government publishes official figure of femicides: A total of 117 women have been murdered until October 2023

The Cuban government published the official figure offemicides committed in the country until October 2023 and the number is staggering.

“At the end of October 2023, 117 incidents of violent death of women were reported,” stated the Attorney General of the Republic,Yamila Peña Ojeda, in the work sessions of the VII Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) held this Saturday.

The authorities' record exceeds the number of violent deaths of women recorded by independent civil society feminist organizations in Cuba, dedicated to the care of women and the protection of their rights.

In mid-December, the Gender Observatory of the feminist magazine Alas Tensas (OGAT) indicated thatThe number of femicides registered in the country during the year amounted to 81 cases, 36 less than those reported this Friday by the authorities.

According to the data provided by Peña Ojeda and published inCubadebate, the provinces most affected by the scourge of sexist violence are Matanzas, Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Granma and Guantánamo.

Three quarters (75%) of these phenomena occurred in homes shared by couples, said the Attorney General. As a result of these violent events, 70 children and adolescents were left motherless in Cuba.

For her part, the deputy prime ministerInés Maria Chapman He stated that the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel has a “comprehensive strategy” for the eradication of this scourge as part of the National Program for the Advancement of Women (PAM).

In that sense, he considered very important the execution of the registration, monitoring and attention of cases of feminicide andgender violence.

At the end of November,The Cuban regime recognized an alarming increase in femicides and cases of violence against women in Cuba during the first half of 2023.

"In the first half of 2023, a greater number of femicides and complaints by women victims of violence were evident, something that calls us to continue working to prevent the occurrence of events as devastating for a society as these," he said in a statement. press conference the general secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women,Teresa Amarelle Boué.

For her part, the vice president of the National Union of Jurists of Cuba,Yamila Peña Ferrer, said that there are more complaints about violence against women.

However, she justified that "it does not have to be exactly because there are more cases of violence, that cannot be stated," and attributed it to the fact that now "women feel more supported and safe to report."

According to the jurist, this is due to "the construction of a regulatory framework, from a legal and institutional perspective, that protects women."

She also attributed this increase in complaints to "the action protocols signed by the different authorities," and said that "to the extent that they are complied with effectively, women will gain greater security."

The official did not mention the impact on this phenomenon of the surveillance established by independent Cuban feminist organizations, which have established protection protocols for victims and promote various demands on the state for the effective protection of women.

Precisely, the OGAT recently warned of the need to create in Cuba "a protocol for action regarding disappearances", following the increase in the number of reports of missing women in Cuba.

Feminist organizations have been demanding from the authorities of the regime greater transparency and access to records and data on gender violence, in order to create synergies in favor of the protection of Cuban women.