Domestic Violence as a Risk Factor in Femicides: Public Policies for its Prevention in the Chaco Province

Abstract

Argentina has incorporated legal frameworks and public policies to prevent gender violence, including the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and Law 26.485, which establish a comprehensive protection framework. Law 26.791 increased the penalties for femicide. However, the high rates of femicide, which are particularly acute in Chaco Province, reveal a significant gap in the effective implementation of a protective framework for victims. Comprehensive policies adapted to regional needs are required for effective protection. The objective of this study was to analyze domestic violence as a risk factor for femicide in Chaco Province and to evaluate protection and prevention policies that have been implemented. The study employed a mixed methodological focus, combining a dogmatic analysis of regulations related to gender violence and femicide with a descriptive study of statistical data on femicides that occurred in Argentina and, specifically, in Chaco Province. Despite Argentina’s progress on modern legal frameworks, high rates of femicide persist, especially in Chaco, showing a gap between the existence of laws and their implementation. Domestic violence is highly prevalent, with victims experiencing progressively spiraling violence by their aggressors. In Chaco, the multiplicity of agencies without a systemic perspective generates bureaucracy and revictimization. Femicide eradication requires coordinated public policies that have adequate funding and adapted to regional vulnerabilities for effective protection.