Death of Ecuadorian Attorney Highlights Country’s Deadliest Year for Women On Record
According to the Latin American Association for Alternative Development, 206 women have been killed for gender-related reasons since January.
Landwebs
The death of Mara Belén Bernal, a 34-year-old defense attorney who disappeared from the police academy in Ecuador’s capital in early September, highlights a growing trend of gender-based violence in Ecuador and perceptions that the police force is both corrupt and complicit or actively involved in growing crime in the country, the Washington Post reports. According to the Latin American Association for Alternative Development, 206 women have been killed for gender-related reasons since January. Activists are concerned because Bernal’s husband and principal suspect in her death, Lt. Germán Cáceres, is responsible for training police cadets. Cáceres is due in court Friday for “charge formulation,” but has disappeared. Fausto Salinas, Ecuador’s police commander general, said 12 officers are currently suspended pending investigation.
