South America

If the descendants inherit, the spouse shares in the hereditary estate in the same proportion as sons and/or daughters. If the ascendants inherit, half of the inheritance corresponds to the spouse. In the absence of descendants and ascendants, the spouse inherits the entirety of the estate. The spouse does not inherit if the deceased dies within 30 days of the marriage due to an illness, which existed at the time of marriage and was known by the survivor to have a foreseeable fatal outcome, unless, the marriage was preceded by a union in joint habitation.

Article 638 defines parental responsibility as the set of parental duties and rights relating to the person and property of the children for the children’s protection, development, and education while they are minors. These responsibilities are governed by three principles set out in article 639: a) the best interests of the child; b) the progressive autonomy of the child based on his or her psychophysical characteristics, aptitudes, and development.

Article 2 of the Employment Code provides that discriminatory acts are against the principles of labor laws, including any distinction, exclusion, or restriction because of race, color, sex, age, civil status, union participation, religion, political opinion, nationality, ancestry, economic situation, language, or beliefs, among others, that have the goal of eliminating or altering equality of opportunities or of treatment in the workplace.  Article 62 provides that the employer must comply with the principle of equal compensation between men and women who perform the same work. 

This law serves as Paraguay’s Labor Code, which contains provisions that prohibit any gender-based discrimination in the workplace and guarantee the equal treatment between men and women, such as Articles 47 and 128. In turn, article 130 prohibits employers to assign risky labors to pregnant women. Articles 133 and 134 provide rights for lactating women, including requiring maternity leave and lactating rooms within the company.

The 2000 Venezuelan Penal Code contains key provisions on domestic violence, reproductive rights, sexual crimes, and family-related offenses. On domestic and intimate partner violence, Article 375 criminalizes physical or psychological violence within the household, protecting spouses, partners, and other family members. Regarding abortion, Article 432 criminalizes it with 6 months to 2 years’ imprisonment for the woman and 12 to 30 months for the provider. Article 435 establishes an exception when the procedure is performed to save the woman’s life.

Article 80 of the Penal Code focuses on the types of homicide punishable by life in prison. These crimes include, among others: (i) homicide of a relative, an ex-spouse, or someone that the perpetrator was in a relationship with, regardless of cohabitation; (ii) homicide via cruelty, treachery, or insidious form; (iii) homicide of a victim with a bounty; (iv) homicide for pleasure, greed, or hate against the victim’s race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression; and (v) homicide by a man against a woman involving gender violence (i.e., femicide).

A person who sexually abuses a person under the age of 13 through violence, threat, coercion, or intimidation is subject to imprisonment of between 6 months to 4 years, in instances where the person takes advantage of a relationship of dependence, authority, power or the inability of the victim to freely give consent. The penalty will be increased to 4-10 years of imprisonment where the abuse, as a result of its duration or other circumstances, constitutes grave sexual injury.

A person who takes, hides, or imprisons a pregnant woman in order to force the woman or a third party to do, not do, or tolerate something against his or her will is subject to imprisonment of between 10 to 25 years. A person who kidnaps or hides a pregnant woman to obtain a ransom is subject to imprisonment of between 10 to 25 years. If perpetrator obtains the desired gain, the minimum penalty will be raised to eight years.

Articles 85 to 88 of the Argentine Penal Code (“APC”), recently amended by Law 27610, deal with abortion. In particular, Article 85 APC (paragraph 1) provides that an abortion performed on a person without their consent, or (paragraph 2) after the fourteenth week of pregnancy, is punishable.

The Chilean Criminal Code contains a set of provisions addressing sexual crimes, harassment, gender violence, abortion, and sexual exploitation, with penalties varying according to the seriousness and circumstances of the offense.