Venezuela is known for its record number of beauty queens and schools that churn them out like an assembly line. What Venezuela is not known for is protecting the lives of the rest of it’s female population. Amnesty International issued a report that said that the country’s making laws that protect women from familial and spousal abuse isn’t enough, especially if the state isn’t going to enforce it.

Amnesty International’s Americas Programme Deputy Director, Guadalupe Marengo, said:
‘The 2007 Venezuelan law to protect women from violence is an example for the rest of the region but it will be useless for women unless it’s fully implemented.
‘Implementation of the law means more shelters, special tribunals and training for those who have to deal with these crimes.’

In all of the country there are only 2-3 (depending on the source) shelters for women.

I would also argue that within Venezuelan culture, violence against women is not taken seriously. As Jen wrote about yesterday, there are “practical joke” shows in Venezuela that makes fun of women’s fears of being assaulted. One of the more popular themes is where a model/actress is put in a position of feeling like she is going to be assaulted.
Click here for an example

Only when countries refuse to see abuse or the possibility of abuse as funny can the issue of violence against women be taken seriously.

Via / The Latin Americanist, Amnesty International UK, BBC News