Panama Records Decrease in Femicides

In 2025, Panama recorded 20 femicides, a 13.04% decrease compared to the previous year, which closed with 23, according to statistical data released this Friday by the Ministry Public (MP, Prosecutor's Office). Of the total femicide victims, six were killed with a firearm, five with a bladed weapon, four by mechanical asphyxiation, two with a blunt object, one was incinerated, and two from undetermined causes. The Prosecutor's Office also reflects 18 attempted femicides and 15 violent deaths of women in 2025, of which 14 were with a firearm. "Violent death" refers to all homicides of women that were not considered femicides, according to the Prosecutor's Office. In his presentation, the head of the body, Eduardo Leblanc, said that "cases of gender-based violence, femicides, sexual abuse, school bullying, and violence in family and community environments reveal that prevention, detection, and timely attention mechanisms remain fragmented and, in many cases, late." "Panama has legislative advances, but reality shows that we are still not sufficiently protecting women. Femicides, physical and sexual violence, late attention, and the lack of agile mechanisms, as well as digital violence, continue to put lives at risk," declared Leblanc when presenting the study. In its annual Human Rights report released last December, the Ombudsman's Office of Panama points out that in the country, the protection of women as well as children remains "insufficient." The highest number of femicides was recorded in the province of West Panama—contiguous to the capital—with eight in total.