SAN JUAN.- The governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, signed an executive order this Thursday to extend the state of emergency due to gender-based violence on the Caribbean island for six months, a measure that came into force in January 2021.
“With the state of emergency we have instituted transformations in the management of this social evil and its multiple manifestations. Such initiatives have been implemented and integrated as public policy in government agencies, and campaigns and other tools have been developed to educate for the prevention of gender violence,” Pierluisi said in a statement.
“With the extension of this executive order, we want to give continuity to the efforts that are already in force, focused on orientation, education and transformation of social behavior, as well as the implementation of prevention programs throughout our Government and the development of public policy that promotes equity,” added the president.
The Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (IEPR) reported at the end of April that according to data from various authorities, from 2021 to 2022 femicides with firearms on the island increased from 61% to 77%.
According to the Puerto Rico Gender Equality Observatory, in 2022 a total of 62 femicides were registered, between direct and indirect, of which 14 were classified as intimate, alarming data on an island of just over 3 million inhabitants.
The escalation in murders of women on the Caribbean island continued despite the fact that the Puerto Rican governor extended the state of emergency due to gender violence during 2022.
