Argentina proposes electronic tracking for men prone to violence toward women

BUENOS AIRES, July 27 (UPI) -- Argentine President Mauricio Macri on Tuesday announced a plan to fight against "femicide" and domestic abuse directed toward women through the establishment of a network of women's refuges.

Femicide is a gender hate-crime term describing the violent and deliberate killing of a woman. The plan, which will increase funds for the electronic tracking of men known to violently target women, will begin next year.

In a national address, Macri said a woman is attacked every 37 hours in Argentina. He said education is necessary to end the deeply rooted culture of violence against women in the country. Last year in Argentina, 235 women were killed in incidents related to gender violence.

The government's three-year plan, led by the National Council of Women government agency, will introduce gender violence awareness as part of the national school curriculum.

Last year, more than 200,000 people protested against violence toward women in Buenos Aires. Protests were also held in more than 80 cities across Argentina, as well as in neighboring Chile and Uruguay.

The protests were organized after a 14-year-old girl was beaten to death by her boyfriend because she was pregnant. In an earlier case the same year, a woman was killed by her estranged husband after she asked for a divorce. She was a kindergarten teacher and her husband slit her throat in front of her classroom.

Argentina adopted a law in 2012 establishing tough punishments for femicide perpetrators, as have many other Latin American countries that facing similar problems, but women's rights group believe it is not enough.