Until All Are Free: A study on the prevalence of violence against women and children and their reliance on the Salvadoran Justice System
El Salvador VAWC Baseline Protection Study Prevalence and Reliance Report English:
Download PDF (1.742 MB)El Salvador VAWC Baseline Protection Study Prevalence and Reliance Report Spanish:
Download PDF (4.143 MB)Author | International Justice Mission |
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Resource Type | Report |
Publication Date | May, 2025 |
Location | El Salvador |
Subject | Violence Against Women and Children |
This publication presents a baseline study that addresses the prevalence of violence and the reliance of the population in its Justice System. The study, which was conducted using a representative sample in 15 municipalities of the three zones in El Salvador, is based on 2,700 household surveys. International Justice Mission carries out these measurements to guide the decisions in its own program and to generate data on the degree of transformation of the Salvadoran Justice System in response to Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC).
The prevalence baseline found that 38% of adult women and 28% of adolescents aged 13 to 17 have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, and 6% of women and 7% of adolescents experienced it in the previous 12 months. Despite the high prevalence of violence, only 27% of adult women and less than 15% of adolescents who experienced violence reported the incident to a justice system institution in the 12 months preceding the study. Among those who do report, the National Civil Police is the primary institution victims turn to, particularly in cases of sexual violence. Victims often choose not to report the violence they have suffered due to fear, pressure, and threats, as well as a normalization of the violence. Over 23% of women and 45% of adolescents aged 13 to 17 do not perceive physical violence as a problem.