IJM is currently implementing programs to address sexual violence in Bolivia, and other forms of violence against women and children in Guatemala and El Salvador. In Uganda IJM programs address sexual assault of children and intimate partner violence. IJM combats on-line sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines and commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Dominican Republic and Mumbai and Kolkata, India. The goal of these IJM programs is to increase the capacity of governments to combat violence against women and children, increase victims’ access to social and justice services, and decrease impunity for VAWC through apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators.

When the authorities fail to exercise their unique obligation to restrain those who perpetrate acts of violence against women and children, the law does not deter potential abusers and the crime itself becomes normalized and pervasive.

Additionally, IJM has collaborated with local authorities to prosecute and convict 923 perpetrators of these crimes and is working to deter violence against women and girls and extend the protection of the law to them. IJM’s approach has demonstrated that justice systems, when supported and mentored, are capable of successfully investigating and prosecuting VAWC in a trauma-informed way.