A draft report by the government’s justice committee says Ecuador’s new penal code should include categories for “modern” iterations of crime. The draft mentions femicide, organized crime, human trafficking and participation in the illegal cell phones black market as categories of crime that should be contemplated by the new laws. 

Last Tuesday, the body of a 22 year-old woman who had disappeared a month before was found inside a burlap sack in Cotopaxi. The body was butchered but showed signs of rape. Before that, the body of Gabriela León Gudiño, 25, was found earlier this month in Ibarra, in an empty lot 20 metres from her front door. Her body showed signs of strangulation and sexual interference.

And the case of Karina del Pozo, a 20 year-old murdered in Quito, could also be prosecuted under the new category. The high-profile del Pozo case has increased Ecuadorian’s awareness of gender-based crime and missing women.

The new legislation about gender-based violence could be similar to Bolivia’s version. Bolivia has just approved a law to “guarantee women a life free of violence” on the one year anniversary of the murder of Juana Quishpe, an Aymara community leader and councilwoman.

Original story