Oidhaco Fact Sheet on Women's Rights in Colombia

Friday, March 1, 2013
Author: 
Oidhaco
Americas
South America
Colombia

In corporation with Colombian civil society organizations, the Oidhaco network has produced a factsheet where data concerning women's rights as well as practical instruments can be found. Please find the full fact sheet attached.

Sexual violence

The Oidhaco factsheet lifts the prevalence of sexual violence and how widespread it is in Colombia. In 2011, 18 982 cases of sexual violence was reported to the police; there is however a strong reason to believe that many cases have not been reported. According to the factsheet, one of the main reasons for women to not report crimes against them is due to how Colombian insitutions actively make the cases invisible. Also, the law concenring violence against women have yet to be fully implemented, leading to more than 90 % of the reported cases remaining unpunished.

The safety of women's rights defenders

It is a known fact that women that stand up for human rights and gender equality in Colombia face greater risk of being stigmatized than what men do. This is especially visible when considering that the safety of women not only lie on themselves, but on their children, which are common targets to silence women who defend human rights. There is therefore a need to ensure the safety of women and work against how women are discriminated based on their gender.

Recommendations

Summing up the situation, the Oidhaco facsheet provides recommendations on how to combat discrimination and violence against women in Colombia:

Urge the Colombian government to fully implement norms and laws regarding violence against women - in particular Law 1257
Monitor the implementation of the UN Resolutions 1325 (regarding women's participation in peace processes) and 1820 (regarding violence against women) in Colombia.
Urge the Colombian government to defend the rights of women and consult women in how they can be betetr protected against violence and discrimination.

source: Diakonia


Document PDF: 

Oidhaco Fact Sheet on Women's Rights in Colombia