Dr. Victoria Sanford, Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Lehman College–City University of New York, recently presented "Gender Violence and Migration: Co-Optation of the Guatemalan Judicial System and Post-Election Optics." She discussed the weaponization of the Guatemalan judicial system, gender violence, and migration in a conversation about her new book Textures of Terror that investigates the unsolved murder of a female law student and the pervasive violence against Guatemalan women that drives migration. Through a father’s determined struggle and other stories of justice denied, Textures of Terror offers a deeper understanding of U.S. policies in Latin America and their ripple effect on migration. Professor Sanford offered an up-close appraisal of the inner workings of the Guatemalan criminal justice system and how it maintains inequality, patriarchy, and impunity. Presenting the stories of other women who have suffered at the hands of strangers, intimate partners, and the security forces, she revealed the deeply gendered nature of power and violence in Guatemala. Professor Sanford gave an overview of the possibilities and limitations for reform under the government of newly elected President Bernardo Arevalo who won the presidency on an anti-corruption platform and brought hopes of a new Democratic Spring.
