Salvadoran Network of Women Human Rights Defenders – On Friday, March 27th, Rosa Elvira Flores Martínez, human rights defender and leader of the Salvadoran Women’s Movement (SWM), who had been disappeared since March 19th, was found lifeless and with indications of violence in the village of Los Lagartos of the San Julián municipality in the state of Sonsonate.
We denounce the total indifference from the State to the disappearance and subsequent murder of Rosa Elvira, as well as the false government statistics that consistently reflect zero homicides despite ongoing forced disappearances, feminicides, and attacks against women defenders because of our work and for being women. This is a reality that government institutions refuse to acknowledge and to which they devote no effort or resources whatsoever to stop.
Rosa Elvira, who was 47 years old, came from the village of Atiluya, District of Santa Isabel Ishuatán in the state of Sonsonate. In her work with the SWM, she fought for the right of all people to a life free from violence.
In the face of her disappearance, family members and co-workers in her organization held a press conference in which they urged the authorities to investigate and to pay special attention to the video cameras of the community. The answer they received was that the cameras were in need of repair. The narrative of a safe and secure country is proven false by the harsh reality that places our lives in jeopardy.
We demand that the National Civil Police and the Attorney General’s Office conduct a speedy investigation and prosecution of the perpetrator(s) of this crime.
We call on the international community and especially the feminist organizations and movements of the world to accompany us in this denunciation and demand for truth and justice in the face of forced disappearances, feminicides, criminalization, and other forms of violence that we are facing in this state of exception that scorns our rights and our very lives.
In our call for solidarity from the general public and the international community, we urge you to stay informed through the action alerts sent out by those of us working in feminist and women defender organizations and the civil society itself.