UNODC with the support of UN Women launches a regional report on the mechanisms of response to violence against women in the Southern Cone

July 19, 2011 -  Violence against women in the Southern Cone is still protected by silence and discrimination, invisibility in national statistics, and by the reluctance of institutions and professionals to recognize this practice as a violation of human rights.

This is just one of the highlights of the Regional Report on the institutional response to gender violence in the Southern Cone, which was launched today, July 19 th, in Asuncion, Paraguay.

The report, made by UNODC with the support of UN Women, gathers local assessments that have evaluated the mechanisms of protection for victims and prevention of gender violence in each of the Southern Cone countries (Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).

The report, in addition to presenting statistics on violence against women in each country, is also a comparative study of the mechanisms of response to this crime in the region, exposing the weaknesses and the progresses.

The report highlights the creation of police stations for women and the signing of international treaties related to the topic as one of the regional achievements. In addition, there are challenges, such as the lack of judicial responses that are often slow and ineffective and the resulting sense of powerlessness of women. Finally, the report makes recommendations to the five countries such as, for example, the highlight of the gender component, with emphasis on the historically unequal power relations between men and women, in mechanisms for responding to gender-based violence, distinguishing it from other forms of crime.

The document was presented during the International Seminary "Answers to the Gender-based Violence in the Southern Cone: Achievements, Challenges and Regional Experiences", which gathers in Paraguay government representatives from the areas of women's rights and public safety, members of civil society organizations working on gender and independent experts on the subject. Taking into account the regional context, there will be a specific panel for the issue of trafficking in persons, inextricably linked to the problem of gender violence in the Southern Cone.

Besides presenting and discussing the report, the seminar seeks to promote the exchange of experiences, foster cooperation and facilitate the creation of a network of exchange of good practices among people responsible for the preparation of responses to the problem in the region.

See here the report highlights

All Stories