Bolivia has the second highest rate of sexual violence in Latin America and the Caribbean (after Haiti) during a woman’s lifetime, according to data from the PanAmerican Health Organization.
However, even these high numbers fail to capture the full extent of the abuse women and girls face as Bolivia has one of the lowest reporting rates for sexual violence in South America, a problem that has only been exacerbated during the lockdown as a result of COVID-19.
The information in this factsheet is largely derived from the report titled Failure to Protect: How Discriminatory
Sexual Violence Laws and Practices are Hurting Women, Girls, and Adolescents in the Americas, published by Equality Now in September 2021. Please refer to the report for further information on these laws as well as a full list of recommendations