Carnival is one of the most important festivities in Bolivia, but it is also, unfortunately, where very worrying figures of violence against women are registered every year, a reality that Pro Mujer and UN Women organizations want to change through the campaign #SinMáscarasSinViolencia (NoMasksWithoutViolence).
The president of the Association of Victims of Feminicide and Infanticide in Bolivia, Rosiario Méndez, regretted that to date the Legislative has not dealt with the bill to favor the orphans of feminicide, who are estimated to exceed one thousand children and adolescents, since law 348 came into force in 2013.
The crimes against women occurred in Cochabamba, La Paz, Tarija and Potosí. The perpetrators are partners and ex-partners of the victims.
January closes with the tragic balance of six femicides, 50% less than in the same month in 2023, when 12 murders of women were recorded.
Threats, aggressions, salary withholding and pressure to sign “shared agreements” are some of the situations experienced by women authorities in Bolivia, a reality that increased in 2023 with 151 cases of harassment and political violence registered.
More than 50 institutions that make up the Alianza Nacional por los Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes Huérfanos de Feminicidio (National Alliance for Children and Adolescents Orphaned by Feminicide) are lobbying the Plurinational Legislative Assembly for a law to care for orphans left behind by women who were murdered.
Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s Minister of International Development, arrived in Bolivia to announce and launch two new projects on sexual and reproductive rights, which are being promoted in Bolivia by his country, with funding of 19 million Canadian dollars (equivalent to more than 14 million USD), and which will directly benefit 151,000 adolescents and young people between the ages of 10 and 29. The projects will be implemented by the United Nations and Plan International.
The Attorney General’s Office reported this Saturday that in 2023 it handled 51,770 cases of gender violence, that is, an average of 142 cases per day. The overall figure is higher than the previous year (2022). Most of these complaints originated in domestic or family aggressions.
Between January and October 2023, the Public Prosecutor’s Office reported 1,129 incidents related to the crimes contemplated in Law 263.
The most vulnerable population of children and adolescents suffer daily a series of violations of their most basic rights. Almost every day the media report infanticides and sexual assaults, and with the passage of time became frequent facts in society, but what to do to stop it, in this area arises the initiative of Ipas Bolivia to inform and prevent through a campaign on social networks.
In Bolivia, comprehensive care for victims of sexual violence takes a central role with the implementation of the “Model of Comprehensive Care for Victims of Sexual Violence”. This model, developed in 2015, seeks to strengthen the work of health teams by providing technical, conceptual and practical tools to address this critical issue in an effective and compassionate manner.
By Erika Ibáñez
The fertility rate of adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age in Bolivia is almost double the average for the Americas, according to the Basic Indicators portal of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The decision of the Chamber of Deputies to reject a bill on sexual crimes against minors has sparked a wave of protests and indignation among citizens and activists, who are calling for the legislation to be approved.
The panel of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in its most recent update, indicated the situation of sexual and reproductive health in the world. The latest data indicated that in Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay, on average, 5 out of 10 women have access to contraceptive methods, whether traditional or modern.
At least 97 teenage pregnancies are reported every day in Bolivia. That is the revealing data that emerged in 2022, when a total of 35,470 pregnancies were recorded, of which 2,134 cases occurred in children under 15 years of age and 33,336 among young people aged 15 to 19 years.
After several hours of debate, the Chamber of Deputies rejected the Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents from Sexual Abuse. Likewise, other bills that were on the agenda were stopped.
By a vote of 44 in favor, 54 against and three blank, the legislative body decided to adjourn the long session of legislators.
The mayor of the city of Potosí, Jhonny Llally, has been sent to the Santo Domingo de Cantumarca jail with preventive detention in the framework of a sexual abuse complaint. Although the Prosecutor’s Office had requested three months, the Justice determined a preventive detention of 15 days.
Lia is 11 years old and was pregnant. It was not until 22 weeks gestation that her mother discovered her condition, after seeking medical attention due to abdominal growth that she found unusual. The girl agreed to a Legal Termination of Pregnancy (ILE),
A 12-year-old girl was captured by social networks and raped by three men. As a result of the sexual aggressions, she became pregnant and after learning of the case, the authorities decided to terminate her pregnancy.
Sexual violence shows an upward trend in the country. In five years, from 2018 to 2022, there was a 90% increase in complaints. It is estimated that every day there are 30 new victims, mostly minors.
Data from the Civic Registry Service (Serecí) reveal that in 12 years it legalized 11,297 unions of adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age. Of this total, 10,012 (89%) are female and 1,285 (11%) are male.
The highest rates of early marriages are found in the central axis of the country: Santa Cruz registered 2,748, followed by La Paz with 2,040 and Cochabamba, 1,705.
