Invisible victims: How Colombia plans to support kids orphaned by femicide

Bogota, Colombia – The news made her breath catch in her throat. There, on her Facebook feed, was a post with an image of her mother's ex-boyfriend.

The caption announced a femicide: the intentional murder of a woman because of her gender.

Jennyfer Ramirez was only 17 years old at the time, a high-school student and the eldest of three siblings. She had been waiting at her uncle's house, where her mother, 33-year-old Leidy Navarrete, was expected to arrive.

It was December 23, 2022. Only two days remained before the Christmas holiday.

But as Ramirez read the Facebook post, she realised her mother would never come. Navarrete was the victim referenced in the caption. Her ex, Andres Castro, had forced his way into her apartment in southern Bogota that morning and strangled her to death before she could leave for work.

Ramirez felt like she could no longer breathe. Overwhelmed with the shock, she fainted.

“It was always the four of us together, my mother and the three of us," said Ramirez, now 19. "From one moment to another, everything changed."

Ramirez, her brother and her baby sister are what domestic violence advocates consider the “invisible victims” of femicide: children who are left without a mother or loved one upon whom they rely.

Such murders can often leave kids orphaned without any parents at all, particularly when the perpetrator is a father or guardian.

But new legislation passed in Colombia's Congress seeks to offer state support to the child survivors of femicide, like Ramirez and her siblings.

The bill is part of a growing trend of legislation in Latin America that provides compensation and funds for mental health services to children struggling with the aftermath of gender-based violence.

“It recognizes that, in the process of femicide, the mother isn’t the only victim," said Representative Carolina Giraldo, who helped draft the bill. "There are indirect victims as well."

According to the United Nations, eight Latin American countries, including Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador, have passed similar laws to support the dependents of femicide victims.

The need, advocates say, is great. In 2023, the United Nations estimated that 11 women each day were murdered because of their gender in Latin America and the Caribbean region.

In Colombia alone, at least 1,746 children were left parentless as a result of a femicide between 2019 and 2024, according to the Colombian Observatory of Femicides, an independently run research group that tracks violence against women.

Ramirez and her two siblings are among that number. She explained that her mother's murder left her feeling lost, as if her life were "senseless".

“My mother supported me. She explained things I didn’t understand. She gave order to my life,” Ramirez said, sitting next to a framed photograph at her grandmother's house.

The picture showed Navarrete, a woman with long, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and a smile spread across her face.

“I feel like my life is in total chaos right now," Ramirez said. "I have no stability. I have no purpose.”

She hardly celebrates birthdays or holidays anymore. Christmas and Mother’s Day pass without family gatherings or the usual decorations to mark the occasion.

Like many children of femicide victims, Ramirez said she struggles to afford psychological support to treat her trauma. Her father, who drives a cement mixer for work, is unable to pay for therapy, which costs between 180,000 to 400,000 pesos or about $44 to $96 per session.

“If it weren’t for my two siblings,” Ramirez explained, “I wouldn’t have a reason to be alive today.”

But her sister’s troubles worry her far more than her own, Ramirez added.

After her mother's death, Ramirez and her brother Fabian went to live with their father. But six-year-old Luna Castro was sent to stay with their grandmother.

Luna's father is currently serving a 31-year sentence for her mother’s murder. The young girl was at home at the time of the strangling.

Ramirez said Luna recalls the femicide with gruesome detail. Sometimes, the little girl cries and tells her grandmother how much she misses her mother. At other times, her tears are filled with rage, as Luna vents about how much she hates her father.

While Luna's primary school provided her two sessions with a therapist, Ramirez said that her sister has not received enough support.

Through Colombia's healthcare system, which offers a mix of public and private coverage, Luna eventually started attending therapy again. But because of the healthcare system’s limited coverage, Luna’s treatment was capped at three sessions.

Gaining access to more mental health resources is the main reason why Jacqueline Plata, Luna's grandmother, is excited about Colombia's new femicide legislation.

“That’s why we support the law for orphans of femicide. More than any economic aid, we’re glad to have psychological support for the children,” said Plata.

For legislators, testimonies from families like Plata's ultimately helped shape Colombia's new law to assist children affected by femicide.

Representative Giraldo said she reached out to relatives of femicide victims through Orphans of Femicide Colombia, a non-profit that represents eight families who have experienced gender-based violence.

“The bill was drafted with the families of femicide victims,” said Giraldo. “They were the ones who told us why this law was necessary and what their needs were, starting at the moment that a femicide occurs.”

The needs of child survivors are myriad.

Geraldina Guerra, the director of the human rights group Fundacion ALDEA, explained that femicide can have endless repercussions on a child's life, from their education to their ability to form relationships.

“A femicide doesn’t affect just one part of your life. It affects every part of it,” she said.

One 2019 study from Chile’s Diego Portales University found mental health disorders, such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress, were common among the children of femicide victims.

According to the study, 90 percent of participants showed symptoms of depression.

There were also financial ramifications to consider. A 2024 study from Fundacion ALDEA and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) examined 76 cases of children who lost a parent to femicide in Ecuador.

They found that 72 percent of the families caring for those children reported that their income was insufficient to cover basic needs like food and healthcare.

Advocates also point to the costs associated with the loss of a parent, like funeral arrangements and legal support for custody cases or criminal proceedings.

Some critics initially argued that the bill should be expanded to include all children who lost parents to homicide. But the bill that ultimately passed Colombia's Congress in April retained its focus on femicide.

The legislation will provide support to minors who lose a parent to femicide until the age of 18. Children who pursue higher education or who are disabled will remain eligible for benefits until the age of 25. It also offers funding for funerals and free access to mental health programmes.

The bill now heads to the desk of President Gustavo Petro, where it is expected to be signed into law.

When the law comes into effect, Ramirez said that she plans to enroll in a university to continue her education in tourism studies. She said she owes her strength to her mother.

“My mother practically made me in her image,” said Ramirez. “I learned a lot of things from my mother that now I can offer to others.”