Most of the cases have identified those responsible, few have been sentenced.
The director of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Against Life and Personal Integrity, Sergio Fajardo, indicated that these data represent a “reduction” compared to the cases reported last year in both crimes, since in 2021 there were 101 femicides and 40 infanticides in the same period.
The highest prevalence of femicides is registered in the department of La Paz with 34 cases, followed by the eastern Santa Cruz with 18 and the central Cochabamba with 10, the highland Potosí with 7; Tarija in the south with 6, while the Amazon Beni and Oruro with 3, and Chuquisaca with two, according to data released in a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office.
It also points out that the main cause of death is suffocation, followed by blows or trauma, bladed or firearms, poisoning and others.
In the same way, in 24 of the 83 cases, those responsible for the sexist violence were the “cohabitants”, followed by the lovers, who had no relationship with the victim or were their husbands, etc.
Of the 83 femicides, only 20 have been sentenced, 37 are in the preparatory stage, 10 in the preliminary stage and in formal accusation, and three with “extinction of the action.”
“It should be noted that 84.33% of cases are found with those responsible for the identified act, who are serving preventive detention, awaiting the oral trial hearing and complying with the conviction,” the statement stressed.
Regarding reported infanticides, 15 occurred in La Paz, 6 in Santa Cruz as well as in Potosí, 4 in the Cochabamba power plant, two in Tarija, and one in Oruro and Pando, respectively.
The main people responsible for their deaths are the parents, stepparents or they have no relationship with the minor, according to data from the Prosecutor’s Office.
Of the 35 reported infanticides, only five have been sentenced and 84.37% of those responsible have been identified and are in preventive detention or have been sentenced, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
The Government declared this administration as the Year of the Cultural Revolution for Depatriarchalization.
Bolivia has had a law that protects women from all types of violence since 2013, a rule whose modification was announced due to complaints from feminist organizations because it is not fully applied.
One of the recurring requests of the women or their families is that the investigations of the cases be expedited and that Justice be done, since many of those responsible are free.