This decision approved the creation of the specialized office referred to as ‘Secretaría Judicial de Género,’ depending upon the Supreme Court of Justice. Since discrimination can sometimes prevent women from accessing justice, the decision adopted measures designed to facilitate access to justice for women. The measures protect women’s rights and legitimate interests with the goal of achieving effective equality.
This decision ratified the content of the "100 Rules of Basel" on access to justice for people in vulnerable conditions. The incorporation of such rules guarantees equality and non-discrimination rights, facilitating the participation of people in conditions of vulnerability before the Judicial System. The decision also creates a multidisciplinary commission, to be operated under the supervision of the ‘Human Rights Directorate’ Ministry, whose main responsibility is the promotion, in a plural and coordinated manner, of these rules, so that they are generally known and adopted.
This decision established the guidelines for the institutional policy on gender for the Paraguayan Judicial Branch.
This decision provides that complaints of domestic violence must be channeled through the ‘Permanent Attention Office’ (Oficina de Atención Permanente). This Office is responsible of receiving all types of domestic or intra-family violence claims, without making any distinction based on the sex or age of the victims. Since violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights, the creation of the Office is intended to streamline judicial proceedings, serving victims of physical or mental abuse in a timely and efficient manner.
This decision resolved to implement the content of the ‘United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders,’ known as the ‘Bangkok Rules.’ The incorporation of such rules seeks for the creation of public policies aimed to eliminate discrimination against convicted women, establish legal protection of women’s rights in courts, and promote equality between women and men before the Justice Administration System.
The plaintiff, a female Venezuelan citizen married to a female Venezuelan citizen, got married in Argentina, where LGBT marriage rights are fully granted to homosexual couples. In the following years, they tried to validate their marriage in Venezuela through a judicial homologation process.
The defendant was a 39-year-old man who repeatedly raped a six-year-old girl without penetration. The Court sentenced the defendant, after finding him guilty of the charges, to three years in prison, following the applicable case law. Venezuelan case law differentiates rape crimes depending on whether there has been vaginal or anal penetration. In this case, as there was no penetration, the defendant was only sentenced to house arrest, which was located a few meters from the victim’s house.
Patricia Mansilla Martínez, a member of the Bolivian Parliament, challenged the constitutionality of several articles of the Criminal Code on the basis that they discriminated against women. The Court held that some of the challenged articles were unconstitutional and upheld others.
The plaintiff in this action was an elected councilor in the municipality of Tolata. She was forced to sign a letter of resignation under pressure from a group of intruders who had entered the session room of the municipal building. The plaintiff alleged that her rights relating to legal security in the exercise of a public function under Articles 46 and 144 of the constitution were violated and sought constitutional protection and the return to the office of municipal councilor of Tolata. The Constitutional Tribunal granted these requests.
The Constitutional Tribunal held that the conduct of the municipal authorities forcing a victim of gender violence to reconcile with her aggressor under the threat of taking her children to a shelter violates the right of women to live free from violence. The Tribunal held that this conduct constituted undue harassment.
