New Prevalence Studies |
In My Shoes: The long road to justice for victims of violence in Latin America.
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In My Shoes: The long road to justice for victims of violence in Latin America.
In my Shoes: The long road to justice for victims of violence in Latin America
The “In My Shoes” studies by International Justice Mission provide data and insights into the scale of violence against women and children in Latin America, and the barriers that victims experience to access justice.
The findings bring to attention the uphill battle that many victims face to report to the system the atrocities committed against them, and then for those who do report, how difficult it is to obtain justice.
Bolivia
In Bolivia*, 1 in 2 women have suffered physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives and 10% experienced violence in the last 12 months. By 2023, an estimated 40% of adolescents had suffered physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives and 17% had suffered violence in the last 12 months.
The study goes even further, revealing one of the root causes associated with this high prevalence: limited accountability for aggressors. After suffering an act of physical or sexual violence, only 17% of women and 5 % of adolescents reported the aggression to the Public Justice System, and that of those cases, only 4% were sentenced.
*The geographic scope of the study extends to the municipalities of La Paz, El Alto, Sucre and Cochabamba.
Guatemala & El Salvador
In Guatemala, the study found that 37.4% of women have experienced sexual or physical violence at least once in their lifetime. 27.6% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.
The findings reveal that most women and children do not seek help from the justice system. After suffering an act of physical or sexual violence, only 32.7% of women and 12.2% of children who experienced violence in the last 12 months made a formal complaint.
In El Salvador, 37.9% of women and 27.9% of adolescents experienced sexual or physical violence at least once in their lifetime. However, only 26.8% of women who experienced physical or sexual violence in the last 12 months made a formal complaint and only 12% of teenage victims (13-17 years old) reported the crime.
Recommendations:
- That Canada increase international development assistance to 0.7% of GNI to prioritize access to justice for women and children in Latin America.
- That The National Assembly of Bolivia approve a law to increase the national budget dedicated to combatting violence against women and children.
- That the President of Guatemala instruct Ministers of Government, Labour, Social Development and Health to implement the Coordinated Response Model (for VAW) described in PLANOVI and directed by CONAPREVI.
- That the President of El Salvador formulate and launch a National Action Plan to Combat and of Zero Tolerance of violence against children, adolescents and women.
“Behind these numbers are real lives—women who wake up every day fearing the violence they've already endured will find them again. Over half of them live with that fear, yet the justice they desperately need feels unreachable. Out of 321 cases, only 13 saw a sentence, with years of waiting in between. The gap between the hope for justice and the painful reality is staggering. Most women—81%—and almost all adolescents—92%—choose silence over a system that has failed them. When safety and dignity are at risk, justice isn’t just a process—it’s a lifeline, and it must be swift, compassionate, and trauma-informed.”
"This study provides a picture of the magnitude of violence against women and children in Bolivia and evidence to the urgency of a solution to this problem. IJM continues to leverage its findings to raise the voices of survivors and to propose structural changes in the Bolivian justice system that will increase the protection of those who are vulnerable to violence."
“Our rigorous prevalence studies in Guatemala and El Salvador reveal that almost 40% women and children suffer from sexual and/or physical violence in their lifetime. Alarmingly, only 20% of victims report incidents to authorities, with the vast majority of cases remaining unresolved. This perpetuates cycles of trauma and impunity, devastating families and communities.These stark figures underscore the critical need to increase access to justice and dramatically improve justice system performance. At IJM, we are actively partnering with local governments, civil society organizations, and survivors to address the root causes of impunity and protect those at risk. Our efforts have already led to increased number of reports and improved justice system performance in project areas.We are seeing promising results and are confident that together, we can build a safer future for all women and children.”
IJM’s Programs to combat Violence Against Women and Children
IJM’s Presence at the First Ministerial Conference to End Violence Against Children in Bogota
International Justice Mission Canada is part of a global organization that protects vulnerable people from violence. IJM partners with local authorities in 33 program offices in 18 countries to combat trafficking, violence against women and children, and other forms of abuse against people in poverty – including the online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines. IJM and our partners work together to empower survivors of violence, hold perpetrators accountable and help strengthen public justice systems.
For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact:
Maggie Cutrell, Regional Director, Media and Communications, North America
mcutrell@ijm.org | +1 (478) 955-4666 | +1 (478) 955-4666
Julieta Buckenmyer, Lead, Marketing and Communications, Latin America
jbuckenmyer@ijm.org