Why studying women's relationship with organized crime matters

For years, the relationship between women and organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean has been an afterthought for researchers, reporters, and authorities. However, more women are participating in criminal activities, and they are more visible than before. This, coupled with the rise in gender-based violence related to organized crime, shows how important the topic has become. 

At InSight Crime, we have spent years looking into the complex ways in which women, organized crime, and authorities interact. Below are a few trends we have found regarding how organized crime affects women in the region. 

Representations of women in organized crime mostly come from narco TV shows, which have become extremely popular in recent years. However, shows like Netflix’s most recent adaptation of the life of infamous drug trafficker Griselda Blanco, reproduce harmful gender stereotypes that skew the public’s perception of how and why women get involved in criminal activities. 

The real stories of women involved in organized crime are far more complex and go beyond the victim-perpetrator dichotomy. Women have multiple motivations to join criminal groups, ranging from feelings of insecurity, wanting to amass power, economic needs, sentimental relationships with members of these groups, and living in a social context where involvement with organized crime is the norm.

False notions of women in organized crime, like the ones reproduced by narco TV shows, and the gender stereotypes often associated with them in Latin America have impacts in the real world. For one, we have found that there is a glaring lack of gender perspectives in the fight against organized crime. This, in turn, has consequences for the lives of women across the region. 

An increasing number of women are in prison for drug offenses in Latin America, most of them for non-violent offenses such as retail drug sales. The harsh sentences these women face do little to break up large drug trafficking networks and have disproportionate impacts on their children and communities.

In this sense, applying gender perspectives in justice systems, particularly in drug cases, is vital. In Argentina, a landmark ruling absolved a group of transgender women of drug charges on the basis that their vulnerable situation — due to discrimination, stigmatization, and often criminalization based on their gender identity — makes them easy prey for organized crime and exposes them to re-victimization by the authorities.

Furthermore, authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean often underestimate women's capacity for violence and involvement in organized crime. This view has had deadly consequences in countries like Honduras. In 2023, the country’s only female prison was the site of a brutal — but predicted — massacre that left 46 women dead in the midst of a gang war, and authorities have done little since to address the causes of the violence. 

The lack of gender approaches in the design and implementation of security policies also puts women in the crosshairs of organized crime and the authorities. In Mexico, the militarization that accompanied the “war on drugs” has played a key role in the increase in gender-based violence in the country.

Criminal groups often use this type of violence to further their interests. In Colombia, a series of femicides in Tibú, Norte de Santander, highlighted the lack of protection women have from gender-based violence perpetrated by armed groups. Meanwhile, in Venezuela, criminal groups use gender-based violence to attack their rivals and intimidate civil society. And in Haiti, amidst the wave of violence the country is experiencing, gangs have perpetrated a systematic campaign of sexual violence with impunity.

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The work we do at InSight Crime, such as our coverage of gender and organized crime, is expensive and high risk. Please consider making a donation to help us continue to enrich the debate on organized crime in the Americas.