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Research in Latin America regarding interpersonal violence and adolescents is rare if not nonexistent. In a collaborative effort with the Costa Rican Ministry of Education and the National Institute of Women (INAMU), qualitative data were collected from three high schools and one after-school program from rural and urban locations of the Central Valley. The discussion groups/open-ended questionnaires were done with a total of 154 students ranging from ages 14 to 17 and grade levels 8th to 12th. Information was obtained concerning students' perceptions, definitions and opinions on issues relating to interpersonal violence and gender roles and rules. The results show that the students made distinctions between acceptable and unacceptable uses of violence, supporting the idea behind a dichotomy of deviant and non-deviant interpersonal violence behaviors. In addition, students also recognized the overarching and detrimental existence of the machismo culture in society, which, in their eyes, perpetuates interpersonal violence. They were also generally unaware of any help that existed for abused adults, adolescents or children. Results show that the machismo culture that affects the socialization of adolescents is well recognized among adolescents and perceived as a detriment to people through gender role expectations and the use and perpetuation of interpersonal violence.

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Latin American politics in recent years has caused a stir worldwide. Amid social uprisings, power fluctuations between opposing political thoughts, cases of corruption, and human rights violations, one of the cases that stands out the most in the region is the Colombian one. Colombia is a country that has experienced an internal conflict for more than 50 years, where numerous human rights violations have been perpetrated, by different actors within the war. This conflict has created not an internal bilateral war between guerrillas and the government but a multilateral one where paramilitary groups, drug trafficking gangs, and criminal gangs attack the government and each other, contributing negatively to the conflict within the country.The Colombian government managed to sign a peace agreement with the largest guerrilla group in the country (FARC-EP) to end the country's armed conflict, and for the peace agreements to serve as an example for possible dialogues with other armed groups outside the law so that peace involves everyone in Colombia. However, the results afterward are not the most favorable. Human rights violations persist, and in some specific cases, they have increased from what was reported before the signing of the treaty. We will analyze what these internal and external factors are to the conflict that has generated and still generate the violation of human rights in Colombia, despite having signed a peace agreement and having sold it to the world as the most important political achievement in its history, but which in practice is overshadowed by the continuous crimes that continue to be committed in this country.

Many cities in Latin American countries are surrounded by slums. The inhabitants of the slums are often victims of corruption, famine and murder. The victims include everyone and especially affect the most vulnerable, women and children. They are the voiceless whose stories are lost and never told. Children who lack adult support have to pull from their inner strength to rise from hostile environments, nevertheless their lives are lived with ardor and immediacy, a way of life that is built within a culturally-layered community. It is in those layers that not only pain but marvels can be found. My creative thesis, interconnected stories that are woven into a composite novel, focuses on the lives of children in the slums who are constantly beaten down by the chaotic and violent ambiance. These children are of different ages but of similar circumstances, who rise to the challenge, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing.

Corruption has gained attention around the world as a prominent issue. This is because corruption has greatly affected several countries. Following the exploration of various definitions and types of corruption, this thesis focuses on two efforts to rein in “grand corruption”, also known as executive corruption. The thesis is informed by existing theories of corruption as well as anti-corruption agencies and then situates Peru’s experience with corruption in its theoretical context and its broader Latin American context. This work conducts a comparative analysis and follows a process-tracing approach to examine and evaluate Peru’s recent anti-corruption agencies and their effectiveness in holding politically powerful people to account. An analysis is made regarding the efforts of two presidents who claimed to be committed to battling corruption; however, each had different motivations and operated under different circumstances. These differences are showcased in the following influential pillars: institutional design, funding, and oversight within the National Anti-Corruption Commission (CNA) and the Superior Court of Justice Specialized in Organized Crime and Corruption (CSJ).

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