Feminist platforms reported this Wednesday two new femicides that denote the urgency of effective protection systems and shelters for victims at risk to their lives and that The number of women fatalities of gender violence rose to 25 so far this year in Cuba.
The first of them occurred on May 18 in the Working Neighborhoodin the Havana municipality San Miguel del Padrón.
That day, a woman from 32 years identified as Cindy Samantha González Espinosa (Samy) She was murdered at a friend’s house, where she had gone to hide from her ex-partner.
However, the man went to the victim’s friend’s home and ended his life there.
Yo SíTe Creo in Cuba stressed that the aggressor had “history of abuse” with Cindy and with previous partners, without this having entailed preventive measures by the authorities.
The other feminicide is that of Katia Ortiz Figueredoof 25 years and mother of two minors, who was murdered in the middle of the street in the city of Las Tunas last June 5.
Also in that case, the victim died at the hands of her ex-partner, who had a history of sexist violence against her.
In a previous report on this same case, journalist Alberto Arego stated – citing the testimony of the victim’s aunt – that the young woman was stabbed around 11 pm on the aforementioned day in the vicinity of a pharmacy in the Aguilera neighborhood in which there were many people queuing to buy medicines.
According to the testimony of the family source, Katia Ortiz and her ex-partner had been divorced a few months ago, but he, “under threats, had detained her for five days in his house and sexually abused her, leaving her pregnant, according to reports from the expert when making the necropsy”.
Katia is survived by two children, an eight-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl.
When asked if the young woman had made the complaint, the victim’s aunt answered the journalist that no, that “she was very afraid of him” and that she had not wanted to expose her father and her brother.
“What I want is for this case to come to light so that it has no benefit and he is convicted of double murder,” he concluded in reference to the aggressor, who was arrested the same night of the crime.
The underreporting carried out by independent Cuban platforms until June 12 is 25 femicides, three attempted femicides, six cases that require access to police investigation and the murder of a man for gender reasons.
Four other alerts are also currently being investigated, one in Havana, in Artemisa, in Camagüey and in Santiago de Cuba.
The Yo SíTeCreo platform in Cuba and the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory emphasize the importance of the Cuban Government declaring a “state of emergency due to gender violence” and advocate for a comprehensive law against sexist violence, since feminicide is not classified in the Penal Code of the island.
Miguel Díaz-Canel stated on March 8 that sentences for sexist murders in the country tripled in 2023, compared to 2022, going from 18 to 61.
Despite recognizing that cases of gender violence “appear with regrettable frequency,” Díaz-Canel argued that the “enemies of the revolution,” whom he did not expressly mention, “conveniently and tendentiously manipulate” the figures.
