Bolivia — Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women — 82nd Session, June 2022

This submission details:

• the State’s failure to fulfil its duty to provide equal protection under the law to survivors of sexual violence (Article 2 (c) of CEDAW);
• that the decisions and faults of the authorities and their agents constitute demonstrable direct and indirect discrimination against women (article 2 (d));
• as well as the failure to recognise and identify the gender dimension of sexual violence during the prosecution of the accused and in the punishment of this crime (article 2 (e)).

We argue that the root causes of the failures of the State are due to the failure to comply with the obligation to transform gender hierarchies and stereotyped attitudes towards women, which violate Articles 2 (f) and 5 (a) of the Convention since The State has an obligation to combat violence against women and provide survivors with access to justice, as outlined in General Recommendations 19, 33 and 35 of the CEDAW Committee.

Submitted by:

• Equality Now
• A Breeze of Hope Foundation (ABH, Fundacion Una Brisa de Esperanza)
• The Fundación Una Brisa de Esperanza (FUBE Bolivia)
• The Legal Office of Women (La Oficina Jurídica de la Mujer)
• The Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Defense of Women’s Rights — CLADEM Bolivia
• The Human Rights Community (Comunidad de Derechos Humanos)
• The Network of Girls, Boys and Adolescents against Sexual Violence (Red NNAS COVISE)
• The Healthy Family Foundation (FAMISAL)