International Women’s Day, celebrated this past March 8, is always an opportunity to take stock of progress and setbacks in terms of gender equality. And while various sources reveal a widely internalized and legitimized discourse in favor of equality, the levels of violence recorded against women have not declined. Surveys conducted by the WIN network (Worldwide Independent Network) indicate that, globally, 17% of women report having experienced some form of physical or psychological violence in the past year. In Argentina, that figure rises to 34%, and in Mexico, Venezuela, and Chile it hovers around 30%—almost double the global average. This is neither an isolated nor a temporary phenomenon: the figure remains stable compared to previous measurements. Violence is not receding at the same pace as the perception of equality.
This regional picture aligns with even broader structural data. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in Latin America one in three women aged 15 or older has experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in her life. In several Latin American countries, femicide is now one of the leading causes of violent death among women. Moreover, children exposed to violence at home are more likely to suffer or perpetrate abuse as adults, thus perpetuating the intergenerational cycle of violence. Violence is not only experienced in the present; in some cases, it is also inherited.
A similar pattern emerges with sexual harassment. One in ten women worldwide reports having experienced it in the past twelve months, while in Mexico the figure reaches 25%. Among younger women, the proportion doubles: two in ten women between the ages of 18 and 24 report harassment. This is the generation that grew up with greater exposure to rights-based discourse, that more naturally internalized the language of equality, and yet it shows the highest levels of exposure to aggression and harassment. Here lies one of the study’s most troubling findings: the generational paradox of equality. More awareness, more visibility, more public conversation—but also more recorded experiences of harm.
Insecurity in public spaces reinforces this tension. Globally, 45% of women do not feel safe walking alone at night in their neighborhood. In the Americas, that figure climbs to 62%. The highest levels are found in Latin America: in countries such as Ecuador, Mexico, and Chile, the percentages are even higher.
It is true that insecurity does not affect only women. Latin America faces structural problems of urban violence that impact society as a whole. However, the gender gap is consistent: in virtually all the countries surveyed, women report higher levels of fear and insecurity than men. Among women, this feeling is strongest in younger, urban, and more highly educated groups. Insecurity is not merely an abstract perception: it shapes life trajectories, schedules, work decisions, social activities, health habits, and levels of autonomy.
The central point is the relationship between these two dimensions: experiences of violence or harassment reduce the perception of equality in the workplace, in politics, and at home. Likewise, among those who feel unsafe walking at night, perceptions of progress also decline.
This calls for a deeper reflection on what we mean by equality. The survey shows that recognition of formal progress in some areas is real. Public policies, quotas, anti-discrimination laws, and awareness campaigns have a visible effect on public opinion. But formal equality does not automatically guarantee physical integrity or freedom of movement. And without physical integrity, equality remains incomplete.
In Latin America, this gap takes on particular depth. It is a region with strong feminist mobilization, advanced legal frameworks in many countries, and a firmly established public gender agenda. Yet it is also one of the most unequal and violent regions in the world. The intersection of structural inequality, urban violence, and gender creates a scenario in which recognized rights coexist with persistent risks.
It is no coincidence that one of the most powerful slogans of Latin American feminist movements has been “We want to stay alive.” The slogan emerged in response to the scale of femicides in the region and clearly expresses the core of the problem: before full equality in all spheres, what women demand first is something more basic, yet no less urgent—the right to live free from violence.
International Women’s Day, as noted, is an occasion for taking stock, but it also carries the risk of falling into oversimplified interpretations. We are not facing a total failure of the equality agenda, but neither are we witnessing a consolidated success. The data describe a scenario in which institutional advances are not translated uniformly into conditions of everyday safety. Latin America expresses this tension clearly: societies that recognize progress at the formal level, but where the daily experience of many women continues to be marked by fear, harassment, and violence.
If the equality we are building is limited to political representation or access to employment, but does not guarantee freedom of movement and protection from violence, its scope is partial. Equality cannot be measured solely by positions held or laws enacted; it must also be measured by the ability to walk alone, to return home without fear, to live free from harassment.
As long as a significant proportion of women in the region continue to experience physical or sexual violence throughout their lives, equality will continue to show substantial gaps between formal recognition and the effective conditions for autonomy. For equality not to remain an incomplete promise, the challenge is to guarantee something more fundamental: that women can live, move, and participate in society without fear.
Autor
Director of the Argentinean consulting firm Voices. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of WAPOR Latin America, the regional chapter of the World Association of Public Opinion Research.
