Bolivia – joint submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 78th pre-sessional working group 2020

This submission details our concerns with regard to laws related to rape and other forms of sexual violence and procedures and practices which effectively deny access to justice for young and adolescent survivors of sexual violence. Specifically, the undersigned organizations would like to express their concern about articles of the penal code that contravene the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the Convention), namely its provisions on rape and estupro, as well as the government’s systemic failure to grant access to justice to adolescent girls who are victims of sexual violence.

Submitted by: Equality Now, Centro Una Brisa de Esperanza (CUBE), Oficina Jurídica para la Mujer, FAMISAL, the Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Defense of Women’s Rights – (CLADEM) Bolivia, Coordinadora de la Mujer, Voces Libres, and Observatorio de Justicia.