Bolivia has the highest rate of sexual violence in Latin America. Sexual violence against children is especially common in Bolivia, with 1 in 3 girls experiencing sexual violence before age 18. The country also has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate in Latin America and the second-highest overall in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sexual violence survivors who choose to report their case face many obstacles to obtaining justice in Bolivia, including having to prove “intimidation, physical violence, or psychological violence,” a burden that discourages many survivors from seeking justice.
Join us in calling on Bolivia to:
- Define rape as based on lack of consent and including all forms of non-consensual penetration;
- Eliminate the requirement that survivors prove “intimidation, physical violence, or psychological violence”
- Apply international and regional human rights standards on consent
- Repeal the estupro provision, legislation which is used to allow rapists to avoid conviction in cases where the victim is 14-17 years old
- Provide clear guidelines on what acts constitute sexual abuse.