Bolivia must “emphasize” the structural roots of gender violence

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Femicide cases in Bolivia are on the rise and total 70 so far this year, an issue that for organizations such as the Coordinadora de la Mujer (Women’s Coordinator) is the result of “insufficient” prevention efforts and the acceptance of factors such as alcohol abuse and jealousy as a justification for gender violence.

The average number of victims of male violence, almost 10 per month from January 1 through July 31, is a cause for concern for women’s rights organizations in a country with a population of 11.2 million.

Director of Coordinadora de la Mujer Mónica Novillo said that one of the shortcomings “in public policy is related to prevention efforts” to contain male violence.

The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Life and Personal Integrity on Monday announced that 70 femicides have been registered in Bolivia this year and pointed out that among the “causes or motives” are “alcohol consumption” and “jealousy” on the part of the aggressors.

For Novillo “violence against women is a consequence of a male chauvinist structure, the underlying cause relates to a range of behaviors that are accepted by men in a male chauvinist society.”

Part of this “is related to a feeling of ownership, which some feminists mention, with men believing that they are the owners of women’s lives,” she explained.

In that respect “there is an unequal power relationship that must be analyzed from that perspective rather than from a somewhat simplistic explanation based on alcohol” or jealousy.

Alcohol consumption or jealousy are used “as justifications for violence and we must focus on the structural causes of violence rather than on the factors our society has created to tolerate such acts,” Novillo said.

Novillo pointed out that the “inclusion of issues related to gender equality” and the defense of rights in the educational curriculum at all levels has been proposed, “so that people may be able to identify a situation of violence” and know how to confront and report it.

By departments, La Paz reports the highest figures with 26 deaths, followed by Santa Cruz with 12, Cochabamba with 10, Oruro with 6, Potosi with 6, Chuquisaca with 4, Beni with 3, Tarija with 2 and Pando with 1, reported the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Life and Personal Integrity in a statement.

Of the 70 femicides, 63 perpetrators or participants in the crime have been identified and 18 offenders have been sentenced, most of them to 30 years in prison with no right to parole.

The Institute of Forensic Investigations (IDIF) reported that the age group with the “highest prevalence” of femicide or gender violence is among women aged “21 to 30 followed by 41 to 50” and indicated that the “first cause of death is by stabbing followed by asphyxiation.”

Infanticides

The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Life and Personal Integrity on Monday reported that 22 infanticide cases have been registered so far this year. Although less than compared to 2020, authorities are concerned by the cruelty of these crimes against minors, most of which are related to domestic and gender violence.

The Director of IDIF pointed out that in “the case of infanticides the most prevalent age group is from 1 to 5, followed by children under 1 year old.”

The department of La Paz is where these cases are most prevalent and the majority of victims die at the hands of their mother, father or stepparents.

One of the most violent countries for women, Bolivia has had a law since 2013 that punishes femicide with 30 years imprisonment without the right to pardon.

Organizations and activists have often denounced that Law 348 has not been fully enforced due to lack of budget and adequate training and also point out that the justice system re-victimizes women who denounce acts of violence against them.

For several months the government, through the Plurinational Service for Women and Depatriarchalization (SEPMUD), has been implementing several initiatives with different national and foreign organizations to identify the shortcomings in the fight against femicides and to improve some aspects of Law 348.