Impunity is a concern in cases of femicide in Bolivia

The “impunity” and “standardization” of violence are two factors that worry Bolivia in light of 6 femicides registered in the country in just one week, with 45 deaths from sexist violence in the first half of the year.

The State Attorney reported that from January 1 to June 27, 45 murders of women and 10 murders of children were registered, most of them in the regions of Santa Cruz, La Paz and Cochabamba that make up the so-called central axis of the country.

In the same period in 2022, 47 murders of women were registered, while in 2021 there were 60, and although there are fewer this year, what is worrying is the cruelty with which these crimes are committed, and the perpetrators are mostly concubines, boyfriends or exes partners. women, victims.

Zenobia, Samantha, Rosa, Eliana, Katherine and Ameland were victims of male violence last week, many of them were young and died from stab wounds or brutal beatings.

Samantha was found dead along with her 2-year-old daughter, both with their throats slit, in her ex-boyfriend’s room, while Katherine, who had been reported missing, was found in a well in La Paz.

young victims
Director of the Coordinator for Women, Tania Sáncheztold EFE that the level of “premeditation” that occurred in these cases is worrying, but also that most victims and their aggressors are young, who reproduce the violence they have seen in their homes or other environments and feel that their partners and their lives belong to them.

According to Sánchez, about 70% of murdered women out of the total number of registered cases are under 40 years old, and in 60% the perpetrators were their partners.

He also warned that little by little violence is becoming normalized.

For her part, the national coordinator of the Fundación Voces Libres, Mercedes Cortez, told EFE that “there is a stronger naturalization” of male violence and that it is growing like a “snowball”, since the new generations perceive as “normal” certain aspects reinforced by video games or novels .

“We are reaping this violence that has become naturalized and that is why in 70% of all femicides in a year we see men under 30 who are the aggressors, they are children of the past who were violently educated,” commented Cortez.

judicial responses
Sánchez and Cortez agreed in highlighting the “impunity” that exists in the judiciary around these cases, since very few bring sentences and it becomes a “trial” for the families of the murdered women who have to make a pilgrimage between the courts and the public for years. Ministry.

According to data from Public service95% of those responsible for the 45 registered femicides have preventive detention, but only 10 have a summary sentence.

Sánchez argued that the delay in justice contributes to impunity because men are not afraid to commit these crimes in a certain way, due to the low efficiency in their investigation and conviction, which could even affect the fact that the women themselves decide not to report any more, having no results that they provide them with protection.

Cortez noted that there is an urgent need to give “exemplary sanctions” and to stop putting “patches” on this situation, since “the system is not responding to the magnitude of the problem.”

Regarding the law, such as 348, which sanctions all forms of violence against women, both agreed that it is a norm that is an example in other countries, but that the best mechanisms for its effective application have not yet been found.

“In general, the judicial system in Bolivia looks more like an accomplice to the perpetrators of crimes,” Sánchez commented on the delay in investigating cases or the re-victimization that many victims or their families are subjected to.

Both recommended working on a comprehensive plan to combat this crime, including this topic in school curricula, “urgent reengineering of the judiciary” and allocating economic resources to solve this problem.

Sánchez said Bolivia has the fourth highest rate of femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is the country with the highest rate of violence against women in South America, according to ECLAC data.