With the confirmation of two more femicides in Cuba, the number of misogynistic crimes against women in the country has risen to 37, according to independent feminist platforms reported on Thursday.
The murders of Isabel Rojas Aguilera, 30 years old, and Arianni Céspedes Garcés, 35, add to the underreporting of femicides tracked by the Gender Observatory of the magazine Alas Tensas (OGAT) and the platform Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTCC).
Rojas "died at the hands of her ex-partner in the La Bloquera neighborhood, in the city of Camagüey, on September 13, when she went to retrieve belongings of their son from the aggressor's house," stated an initial post published by OGAT on the social network X.
The statement conveyed condolences to the victim's six-year-old son, other family members, and close individuals, while also recommending them to "seek specialized help."
The platforms also confirmed the murder of Céspedes on September 14, carried out by her ex-partner, in the victim's own home in the town of Aguacate, in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba.
They also expressed their condolences to the three children who survive the deceased, all minors, to the rest of her family and close friends, as well as to her coworkers and students at the high school where she worked as a teacher.
"These facts were published by media outlets, citizens, and activists, and verified with community sources through the joint effort of OGAT and YSTCC," the publication indicated.
The crime that cut short Céspedes' life was reported by CiberCuba on the same day it occurred, after sources close to the woman claimed she was stabbed by her ex-partner, inside her home and in the presence of several small children, who raised the alarm.
When the neighbors arrived, they could no longer do anything for her, but they were able to stop the murderer. Although the man tried to flee, he was intercepted by Céspedes' brother, who is a police officer.
In addition to the 37 confirmed femicides in the nearly nine months of 2024, OGAT and YSTCC have recorded three attempted misogynistic crimes, six cases that require access to police investigation, and two murders of men for gender-related reasons.
They also reported that four other possible cases of feminicides are being investigated, which occurred in Las Tunas, Matanzas, Camagüey, and Guantánamo.
The official Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) has admitted that more than 16,000 women and girls, from 9,579 families, live in situations of violence in the country.
The organization has also acknowledged an increase in feminicides since the pandemic, although it refuses to use that term and employs the term femicide.
In early August, the regime reported that in 2023, 60 cases of murders of women aged 15 and older for gender reasons were tried in courts, of which 50 (83.3%) were killed by their partners or ex-partners, and the rest by other perpetrators, according to data from the Cuba Gender Equality Observatory.
Furthermore, in the previous year, 378 cases of sexual violence were also judged in court proceedings, and several women were left with injuries after attacks by their ex-partners.
The Cuban government created a national system for the registration, attention, follow-up, and monitoring of gender-based violence incidents within the family setting, as announced at a meeting of the Council of Ministers.
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