VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN COLOMBIA A CONTINUING CONCERN

November 11, 2003 – (OMCT) The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) expresses its concern regarding violence against women in Colombia at the 31st Session of the UN Committee against Torture

The UN Committee against Torture will today begin its examination of the implementation of the International Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Colombia. In its alternative country report entitled "Violence against Women in Colombia," which has been submitted to the Committee against Torture, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) expresses its grave concern at reports of violence against women at the hands of both private individuals and state officials.

Colombia has ratified major international and regional human rights treaties, which prohibit discrimination against women, and has enacted several laws purporting to guarantee women's equality. However, discrimination against women in Colombia persists and this discrimination often manifests itself as gender-based violence. Women's main role is that of mother and caretaker, and they are often viewed as sex objects, taught to be submissive from a very early age.

In Colombia, women especially experience gender based violence in their families. With respect to domestic violence, as many as 41% of women are victims of violence at the hands of their husbands or partners. Although there is legislation specifically criminalizing violence within the family, the overwhelming view is that domestic violence should be treated as a "private" matter, meaning that many women do not report this violence and those who do report it may not press charges.

Women also experience sexual violence such as rape in Colombia, both inside and outside the family. Specifically, statistics reveal that at least 5.3% of women have been victims of sexual violence, and most of these women knew their perpetrator. Like domestic violence, rape is notoriously underreported. Adding to the physical and emotional trauma of being raped, victims of this abuse face rejection and stigmatization by their families because of cultural notions that link the family's honour to a woman's sexuality. Furthermore, women are frequently blamed for having "provoked" this sexual violence.

An internal armed conflict has been continuing in Colombia for about 40 years and women are also subjected to gender based violence on account of this conflict. Women are targeted for being relatives or otherwise associated with the "other" side and as human rights defenders. When reports of violence against women by armed combatants are filed with the police, there is reportedly little effort to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators.

OMCT is also gravely concerned about the situation of women and girls displaced by the conflict, who comprise the majority of displaced persons in Colombia. Displaced women and girls are particularly vulnerable to violence perpetrated by armed actors, who reportedly request that parents offer their girls to the combatants for a weekend as a "community service."

Overall, the government has failed to protect women from violence whether at the hands of private individuals or state officials. OMCT's report concludes that while Colombia has a duty under international law to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish all forms of violence against women, irrespective of whether this violence is committed by public or private individuals, this obligation has not been adequately implemented at the national level.

For copies of the alternative report on "Violence against Women in Colombia" or for further information on OMCT's programme on Violence
against Women please contact Lucinda O'Hanlon at + 41 22 809 4939 or loh@omct.org.

Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
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