ABSTRACT
The “Latin American Model Protocol for the Investigation of Gender-Related Killings of Women (Femicide/Feminicide),” or LAMP, has become a technical reference for the prosecution of femicides throughout Latin America. Published in 2014 as a joint effort by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, the LAMP provides practical guidelines based on international standards to improve the investigation and prosecution of gender-based killings of women. Providing tools for judicial practitioners to adequately apply a gender-sensitive perspective throughout the criminal proceedings, the LAMP has certainly filled a vacuum in Latin America as proper prosecution and prevention of these crimes remain challenging. Since its publication, the Protocol has been adapted in several Latin American countries to better tailor its orientations to national legal contexts. It has been used for training purposes and applied in emblematic cases in many countries. However, many hurdles lie ahead to making it a useful tool in reducing impunity.
This chapter recounts the Protocol elaboration process and the lessons learned from its adaptation to national contexts. Its original orientations summarised here have been complemented through its application to concrete country situations, which renders it a dynamic and living tool, even eight years after its publication. The obstacles that remain for its further implementation conclude the text.
