Protection against Sexual Violence in the Colombian Legal Framework: Obstacles and Consequences for Women Victims

Sandra M. Parra-Barrera, Nieves Moyano, Miguel Ángel Boldova and María del Mar Sánchez-Fuentes
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Sandra M. Parra-Barrera: Human Rights and Sex Education Research Plan Foundation, Barranquilla 080001, Colombia
Nieves Moyano: Faculty of Humanities and Science Education, University of Jaén, 23009 Jaén, Spain
Miguel Ángel Boldova: Department of Criminal Law, Philosophy of Law and History of Law, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
María del Mar Sánchez-Fuentes: Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Universidad de la Costa, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Sexual violence is a type of gender-based violence (GBV), as it is one of the different types of violence that is exerted against women. Sexual violence infringes fundamental human rights, and denies women’s dignity and self-determination, personal development, and well-being. Despite international treaties and a regulatory framework that legally protects Colombian women against sexual violence, it is necessary to know the effectiveness of this regulatory framework in Colombia. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to examine criminal legislation on crimes of sexual violence in Colombia with a dual purpose: first, to analyze procedural guarantees for women victims of sexual violence; second, to determine obstacles for victims of sexual violence in accordance with the legal framework. We used a legal interpretation method to perform an analysis and interpret the law. The results found that, although sexual violence is considered a type of crime, procedural guarantees are not effective as victims encounter serious obstacles with negative consequences, such as the violation of fundamental human rights.

Keywords: sexual violence; regulatory framework; criminal legislation; rights; procedural guarantees (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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