The Myth of Machismo: An Everyday Reality for Latin American Women

Authors

Patricia M. Hernandez, Holland & Knight LLP

First Page

859

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This paper attempts to present a loose, culturally driven definition of machismo and how this cultural belief affects a woman's "place" in Latin America. With this, another aim is to present a view of the available statistics regarding battering in Latin America. Finally, it is necessary to correlate machismo with the available laws and the ineffectiveness of their application. It is important to also recognize that women's rights groups within Latin America have attempted to pursue certain new avenues to combat domestic violence. Furthermore, the international community has begun to analyze the benefits and consequences associated with the attempt to fight domestic violence in Latin America with traditional provisions of human rights law. It is with cautious optimism that one must approach the subject of domestic violence in Latin America. Advances are necessarily few when violence, and any response to it, is based upon the fundamental inferiority of women and male dominance over the female.

Recommended Citation

Patricia M. Hernandez, The Myth of Machismo: An Everyday Reality for Latin American Women, 15 St. Thomas L. Rev. 859 (2003).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol15/iss4/5