South America

The female defendant was charged with trafficking in person for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The defendant used an employment agency in Peru to offer Peruvian women waitress jobs at her residence in Chile. She would assist them in crossing the border and would pay travel costs. Upon arrival, the victims were kept at the defendant’s residence and were forced to provide sexual services to clients arranged by the defendant. The defendant also kept the victims’ passports so that they would be unable to leave until their debts were paid.

The Criminal Court of Viña del Mar sentenced Rodrigo Gacitúa Escobar to life imprisonment for a series of robberies, rapes, and other crimes committed between 2010 and 2012. The prosecutor, Vivian Quiñones, expressed satisfaction at the result, and pointed out the impact of the testimony from the victims. The defense unsuccessfully attempted to discredit the victims’ testimony, including using postings on social media.

The Civil Law of Guyana Act (the “Act”) sets out the rules for intestate succession, and provides that daughters and sons equally inherit assets from their parents. Similarly, male and female surviving spouses are entitled to the same interests. For example, if a husband is the surviving spouse, he is entitled to the same interest his wife would be entitled to if she was the survivor. 

The Chilean Civil Code, enacted in 1855, has undergone significant reforms to expand rights and promote equality. In 2022, through Law No. 21,400, Chile legalized same-sex marriage, granting same-sex couples the same marital and family rights as opposite-sex couples, including adoption rights. The Civil Code also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, reaffirming the principle of equality before the law.

The Venezuelan Civil Code (1982) sets forth rules on divorce, marriage, property, and succession. Article 185 lists the grounds for divorce, including adultery, physical or psychological abuse, abandonment, and marital rape. It also recognizes as serious grounds conspiracy by a spouse to corrupt or prostitute the other or the children, as well as collusion in such conduct. Article 185-A allows either spouse to petition for divorce after a de facto separation of more than five years, without proving fault or a specific cause.

Articles 435 through 445 of the Civil and Commercial Code define the legal dissolution of a marriage. A marriage can be dissolved due to the death of a spouse, because a spouse is missing and presumed dead, or through divorce (Article 435). Any waiver of the right to request divorce is null and void (Article 436). Divorce is only by judicial decree and can be at the request of one or both spouses (Article 437).

Articles 558 through 564 of the Civil and Commercial Code define the methods that establish parentage and describe parentage via medically assisted reproduction. In Argentina, parentage can be established via natural birth, via medically assisted reproduction, or via adoption (Article 558). The government must not label or differentiate birth certificates by parentage method (Article 559).

Articles 699 through 704 of the Civil and Commercial Code define the circumstances that lead to the termination, removal, suspension, or reinstatement of parental responsibility. Parental responsibility naturally terminates at the death of the parent or child, when the child turns 18 or is emancipated, or at the adoption of the child by a third party without prejudice (Article 699).

Article 402 prohibits the interpretation or application of any norm in a manner that limits, restricts, excludes, or suppresses the equality of rights and obligations of the parties to a marriage, whether such marriage is consummated between two people of different sexes or the same sex.

Article 19 of the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code provides that legal existence begins at conception. Article 20 establishes a rebuttable presumption that pregnancy lasts no more than 300 days and no fewer than 180 days, not counting the day of birth. Article 21 states that the rights and obligations of a conceived or implanted person vest irrevocably if the child is born alive. If the child is not born alive, the law treats the person as never having existed. The law presumes live birth unless proven otherwise.