Havana, June 18 (EFE).- The independent groups Yo Sí Te Creo and Alas Tensas registered three new femicides this Tuesday and raised the total verified so far this year in Cuba to 28.
The first of the three victims is Liset Quesada Romero (33 years old), murdered by her partner on June 14 in the town of Bejucal in the Mayabeque province (west), according to the complaint from independent platforms.
The other confirmed sexist murder is that of Jessica Castillo (32 years old), which occurred on June 15 in Pinar del Río (extreme west). The alleged aggressor of this young woman was her partner who was on parole for a history of femicidal violence, according to the activists.
The third verified sexist crime is that of Alba Delia Sánchez Benítez (58 years old), murdered by her ex-partner on June 16 in the student residence where she worked in Havana.
Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo warned on the social network
These platforms reported two sexist murders just six days ago.
In Cuba there are no updated official figures on gender violence, so the work of activists has given rise to the only real-time record in the Caribbean country.
These groups highlight the importance of the Cuban Government declaring a “state of emergency due to gender violence” and advocate for a comprehensive law against sexist violence. Femicide is not classified in the island’s Penal Code.
The Attorney General’s Office of the Republic recognized that at the end of October 2023, 117 sexist crimes had been recorded on the island, without specifying the exact period in which these events were recorded.
The president of Cuba, 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.
The average profile of the victims in the country – prepared by EFE based on reports from Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo – is that of a 37-year-old woman, with at least one minor in her care and murdered by her ex-partner. EFE
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