The disappearances of women and girls in El Salvador has come represent a grave, if little discussed, human rights crisis, one that is aggravated by government policies, structural misogyny, and a culture of impunity. The women and girls who are disappeared often come from poor, marginalized communities, and the disappearances take place under a range of circumstances, including gang violence, trafficking, and arbitrary detentions by State forces.
Despite declining crime rates under the current State of Exception in El Salvador, growing authoritarianism has contributed to a context where fewer resources are available to women and girls, and to the families of those searching for disappeared loved ones. Exacerbating the crisis is the government’s refusal to adopt a gender perspective in its policies and its failure to establish basic accountability measures, such as an official registry for disappeared persons or even comprehensive efforts to investigate these cases. Without these mechanisms, victims’ families are left in a legal and emotional limbo, with little recourse for justice or accountability, and often live in fear of speaking out.
For years, the Salvadoran people lived with the constant threat of gang violence, including disappearances of women and girls carried out by gangs. Not only do the vast majority of gang-related disappearances remain uninvestigated, with zero political will from the government to help families seek truth and justice, but also today we are seeing an increase in State-perpetrated disappearances.
Addressing this epidemic requires coordinated action from both the Salvadoran government and the international community. Key measures –continually called for by civil society– include the creation of a victims’ registry, gender-sensitive investigations, and international forensic support to identify victims and provide dignity to their families through the search, identification, and reunification process.
