Eradicating violence against women requires normative and institutional frameworks focused on prevention, punishment, and redress, IACHR says

November 25, 2024

Washington, D.C. - On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) notes the alarming reality that 25% of all women in the Americas have suffered physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of their partners, while several countries have recently reported an increase in the number of femicides. The IACHR urges States to continue to strengthen their legal and institutional frameworks to prevent and punish violence against women and to protect women from gender-based violence, in compliance with the Convention of Belém do Pará.

According to WHO estimates, 15% of all women in North America and 11% of women in Latin America and the Caribbean have suffered sexual violence at the hands of someone who was not an intimate partner. According to UN Women, only 37% of all women in Latin America and the Caribbean feel safe walking alone in their neighborhoods at night. Crises concerning democratic institutions, migration, and organized crime have a differentiated impact on women and put them at risk of suffering various types of violence.

During 2024, several countries in the Americas have experienced significant rollbacks in public policies against gender-based violence, including shutdowns of ministries and specialized programs, budget cuts, and the dismissal of gender perspectives in the public sector and in judicial institutions. These rollbacks have included attempts to undermine the credibility of victim reports, shorter deadlines to file formal complaints on violence, and judicial decisions that minimize the need to protect girls and adolescents from sexual violence. Further, official discourse prevails in some countries that stigmatizes the defense of women's rights and denies structural gender-based violence.

At the same time, the Americas have made progress in the form of depatriarchalization policies, the promotion of women's leadership in peacebuilding, the development of specialized services for women who suffer violence, and the adoption of risk management programs. In the justice system, protocols have been adopted to ensure investigations with a gender perspective, court decisions have prioritized assistance for women, and legislation has been enacted to ensure comprehensive redress for the families of femicide victims, strengthening State responses to gender-based violence.

The IACHR remains concerned about the need to continue to implement focused legislation and policies. The specific nature of gender-based violence, its causes, and its consequences needs to be acknowledged to enable sustained progress in the effective implementation of legislation and policies, as well as to prevent rollbacks. Implementation requires institutions that focus on violence against women and girls and on gender equality, with appropriate budgets and a mandate to monitor progress and ensure accountability.

The IACHR considers that violence against women is a multifaceted, structural, and systemic phenomenon requiring profound transformations in cultural representations based on gender stereotypes. In this context, the IACHR stresses that it is important for States to strengthen public policies aimed at preventing gender-based violence, protecting women who are at risk, and effectively punishing violence, with a normative, institutional, and cultural focus. These efforts must cross-sectionally integrate a gender perspective in the design, implementation, and monitoring of public policies in all State institutions, in compliance with the specific obligations held in the Convention of Belém do Pará. An intersectional, differentiated focus is also necessary to ensure a comprehensive response to gender-based violence.

In particular, urgent measures are required to protect girls and adolescents from sexual abuse and its consequences, and this includes the need for due diligence to investigate, prosecute, and punish perpetrators, as well as efforts to ensure non-discriminatory, non-stigmatizing access to comprehensive services.

Finally, the IACHR stresses that developing and monitoring public policies to protect women requires the social participation and leadership of women, with efficient complaint mechanisms and appropriate means to enable the generation of data, access to information, and accountability.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 292/24

2:35 PM