WUNRN
Human Rights Watch
Direct Link to Full Report:
COLOMBIA - OBSTACLES TO CARE FOR ABUSED, DISPLACED WOMEN
· "For many displaced women and girls, the
hardships of displacement are compounded by the trauma of rape and domestic
violence. And despite good laws and policies that have been enacted in recent
years, they still face enormous difficulty in getting the medical attention
they’re entitled to." Amanda Klasing, Women’s Rights Researcher
November 14, 2012 -(
The 101-page report, “Rights Out of Reach: Obstacles to Health, Justice, and
Protection for Displaced Victims of Gender-Based Violence in Colombia,”documents
how recent improvements in Colombia’s laws, policies, and programs on rape and
domestic violence have not translated into more effective justice, healthcare,
and protection for displaced women and girls. More than half of
the country’s roughly four million displaced are female.
“For many displaced women and girls, the hardships of displacement are
compounded by the trauma of rape and domestic violence,” said Amanda
Klasing, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“And despite good laws and policies that have been enacted in recent years,
they still face enormous difficulty in getting the medical attention they’re
entitled to. And, they rarely see their abusers brought to justice.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed 80 displaced women and girls, nearly all of whom
were victims of rape or domestic violence, living in 4 major cities, along with
more than 100 government officials, health care practitioners, rights
advocates, service providers, and other civil society representatives who have
worked extensively with victims of rape or domestic violence.
One displaced woman interviewed by Human Rights Watch was raped five times over
the course of a decade; her sister was also raped, along with her sister’s
5-year-old daughter.
“When rapists get away with their crimes, it not only undermines
Delays and Denial of Care
Uprooted from their homes and mostly impoverished, displaced women and girls
who become victims of rape and domestic violence are often unfamiliar with
health and justice institutions in their new locations. Many have little money
for transportation and other costs to seek services, lack trust in government
authorities, and fear retribution from their attackers.
Immediate health services are crucial for victims of rape and domestic
violence, yet displaced women and girls described delays, denial of care, and
mistreatment by health care providers. They told Human Rights Watch that
medical facilities failed to screen for signs of abuse, hospital staff
sometimes violated confidentiality and mistreated victims. Some health workers
interviewed by Human Rights Watch lacked basic knowledge regarding handling
rape and domestic violence cases, and said they received little training on how
to deal with displaced victims. In several cases, health facilities delayed
care beyond when time-sensitive treatment to prevent pregnancy or sexually
transmitted infections would work.
Victims also faced serious obstacles when seeking justice, including
mistreatment by authorities and evidentiary challenges. Victims and advocates
told Human Rights Watch that officials sometimes asked rape victims humiliating
questions about past sexual history, what the victim was wearing, and what she
did to provoke the attack.
“If you do file a formal complaint about [it] at the family commissioners, they
say, ‘He hit you because you must have done something,’” a member of a
While gender-based violence cases can be investigated without physical evidence,
victims told Human Rights Watch that prosecutors seemed unwilling to pursue
cases that lacked such evidence. In some instances, victims said they could not
produce physical evidence due to delays in accessing forensic testing. For
example, one rape victim said it took 10 days for the forensic medical agency
to examine her, at which point no physical evidence remained.
Humanitarian assistance programs for the displaced do not adequately take into
account how domestic violence can pose a barrier to accessing aid. To access
humanitarian assistance, including food, housing, and health care, families
must officially register as displaced. When a husband registers the family in
his name, as is often the case, victims of domestic violence can feel trapped. Women
can change their registration after leaving abusive husbands, but women often
do not know this. Several domestic violence victims said they felt they had to
choose between staying in abusive households or losing humanitarian assistance
necessary to survive.
Good Laws, Poor Implementation
Human Rights Watch recommends that the Colombian government
take steps to close the gaps in laws and policies to help displaced women who
are victims of sexual and domestic violence by:
·
Establishing an independent
commission to conduct a rigorous review of current practices in institutions
that directly provide care or services;
·
Collecting accurate data
regarding the scope of gender-based violence related to the conflict and
displacement;
·
Expanding, strengthening, and
ensuring continuity of training programs for health and justice system
employees;
·
Carrying out public awareness
campaigns to familiarize displaced women and girls with their rights and the
services available to them; and
·
Passing pending legislation
on access to justice for victims of sexual violence to facilitate successful
prosecution of perpetrators of GBVcrimes.
A bill pending in
“The bill is crucially important as it would address major gaps in the existing
law – gaps that enable humiliation of victims and impunity for perpetrators,”
said Klasing. “Once it’s passed, however, the challenge will remain
ensuring effective implementation.”
Selected testimony from the report
“Seeking medical attention for the [sexual] violence was difficult. Ten days
later, I was finally able to get help.” – Monica N. (pseudonym), Bogotá,
February 22, 2012. Monica went to a hospital immediately after she was raped in
2011 in Bogotá, but was only given an appointment with the gynecological
specialist 10 days later. By the time she received treatment, she had developed
a fungal infection of the vagina from the rape. Her doctors did not inform her
about emergency contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
“There was no orientation. No route where I needed to go. No one said what
happens at each step.” – Viviana N. (pseudonym),
“They [doctors] don’t believe the women. They will ask them questions to see if
they are lying about the rape.” – Paola A. Salgado Piedrahita, lawyer,
“This man will kill me and nothing will happen.” – Dolores G. (pseudonym),