IJM Findings and Studies

In 2023, IJM culminated a study to understand the response of the justice system in Bolivia to physical and sexual violence against girls, boys, adolescents, and women (VAWC). The research assesses four domains: 1) the prevalence of VAWC, 2) the performance of the justice system in VAWC cases, 3) the confidence in the system by its own officials and professionals and 4) the level of reliance of the population on the PJS. The findings of the study provide solid and specialized evidence for strengthening the justice system’s capacity to respond to violence by holding perpetrators accountable and facilitating the path to restoration, resilience, and safety for victims. They also serve as a baseline for measuring the effects of IJM interventions to strengthen the justice system to enforce the law, deter criminals, and protect victims.

The prevalence baseline found that 53% of adult women and 40% of adolescents in La Paz, El Alto, Sucre, and Cochabamba had suffered an act of physical or sexual violence in their lives, and 10% and 17% respectively within the last 12 months. After suffering an act of physical or sexual violence, according to the reliance survey, 17% of adult women and 5% of adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 reported the aggression to the Public Justice System (PJS). A case file review finds that of the cases that entered the PJS, 58.9% were rejected, 19.8% were dismissed after in-depth review, and only 4% received a sentence.