Bolivian Ombudsman Rolando Villena voiced his alarm yesterday at the recent uptick in sexual violence against women, and particularly young girls, in the wake of the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl last week in the town of Palos Blancos. This attack follows the death of a five-year-old girl in the Cochabamba region who was raped in a medical center, allegedly by a nurse. Villena noted that not only has there been an increase in attacks against girls in Bolivia, but also in the brutality of the violence.
The ombudsman’s statement reported that 14,000 cases of rape are recorded annually in Bolivia, and 34 percent of minors have been sexually abused by the time they reach the age of 18. A Pan American Health Organization report from 2013 found that Bolivia had the most gender violence of the 12 Latin American countries surveyed.
Villella criticized both local and national governments for failing to adequately protect girls, and denounced the “complacency” of authorities in the face of increased attacks. “We don’t know how many attacks it will take before the government accepts that we’re facing an unsustainable situation of violence against women, and especially girls,” he said. The ombudsman announced that his office would establish a committee to travel to Palos Blancos to investigate the murder and report on the spike in rapes and feminicides in the area so that Bolivian authorities and organizations can work together to address the violence.
In October 2014, the Bolivian government enacted a new law to fight violence against women that establishes shelters for victims and the strengthens the Special Forces Against Violence, a police force formed in 2013 to combat sexual assault and domestic abuse.
