Gender-based violence: A comparative study between Spain and Ecuador, protocol for gender justice

Abstract

This work examines gender-based violence in Ecuador, focusing on indigenous women and the intersection between intercultural justice and gender pluralism, as well as its differences with Spain. The modernizing reforms of the Ecuadorian state, although intended to protect women, paradoxically reinforced paternalism and social control, especially over indigenous women. It is questioned whether decolonial democracy has truly benefited indigenous women. While liberal feminism centers on individual empowerment, community-based feminism prioritizes collective action, which may not sufficiently address gender inequalities within indigenous communities, as evidenced by high illiteracy rates and the educational barriers faced by indigenous women, affecting their understanding of nutrition and health.

The main differences with Spain lie in the historical and cultural context, the presence of indigenous populations, the justice systems, the conceptualization of gender-based violence, and the challenges related to the institutionalization of indigenous gender biases. Although the role of indigenous women is not reproduced in Spain—and despite the fact that the Spanish judicial system is unified without special provisions for specific ethnic groups as in Andean countries—a familiar historical and sociocultural context still exerts influence. In Spain, patriarchal structures contribute to the normalization and perpetuation of gender-based violence in the domestic sphere due to a lack of emotional and gender education, a culture that normalizes violence, economic and labor inequality, generational trauma, and the perpetuation of gender roles. However, the Spanish penal system is highly committed to reducing gender-based violence, but it requires extra effort to counteract the transmission of the macho role that immigration from countries like Ecuador brings.