The Penal Code of Nicaragua establishes extensive protections for minors under 18 against sexual exploitation. Article 168 punishes sexual contact with anyone under 14 with 12 to 15 years in prison. Article 170 criminalizes consensual sexual relations between an adult and a child aged 14 to 16, imposing two to four years in prison, increased to five to ten years if there is a relationship of authority, trust, or dependency. Article 172 states that consent is not valid when the victim is under 14 or has a mental disability.

The 2024 Constitution of Nicaragua establishes a strong framework of fundamental rights, including guarantees relevant to gender equality, family, and women’s protection. Article 27 affirms equality before the law, and Articles 48, 73, and 82 enshrine unconditional equality between men and women, prohibiting all forms of labor and social discrimination based on gender. Article 5 elevates human dignity as a guiding principle, and Article 36 protects physical, psychological, and moral integrity by prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

A woman was charged with aggravated homicide as a co-perpetrator of infanticide under Article 406, section 3, letter “A” of the Venezuelan Penal Code. After giving birth, she placed the newborn in a black plastic bag, causing death by asphyxiation. The trial court ordered her preventive detention due to the seriousness of the crime.

In Judgment no. 104/2020, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice resolved a jurisdictional conflict and clarified that not every homicide of a woman constitutes femicide. The Court distinguished between femicidal violence and homicidal violence as different, though parallel, phenomena. It emphasized that treating all killings of women as femicide would undermine the specific legal protection intended for gender-based violence, which arises from patriarchal power structures and historical gender inequality.

In Judgment No. 128/2023, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela partially annulled Article 565 of the Organic Code of Military Justice, which punished “any member of the military who commits sexual acts against nature” with one to three years’ imprisonment and separation from the Armed Forces.

In a decision dated July 19, 2021, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela addressed the case of a public figure who verbally and physically assaulted his partner, pushing her against a cabinet and causing severe fractures in her left hand, in the presence of their six-year-old son.

In Judgment no. 1070 of December 9, 2016, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela reaffirmed the doctrine of remedy divorce, which authorizes judges to grant divorce when it is impossible to continue marital life. The Court held that in cases of irreconcilable conflict within a marriage, divorce may be decreed as a means to protect the family and reduce the emotional burden on its members, even if the traditional grounds for divorce under the law (such as adultery or abuse) are not present.

The Supreme Tribunal of Justice reviewed a challenge to Article 46 of the Civil Code, which set different minimum marriage ages for men and women. The Court did not declare the rule unconstitutional, but recognized that gender-based distinctions were problematic and should be reconsidered. It explained that the provision was historically tied to women’s reproductive capacity and the emancipation of pregnant adolescents, though emancipation could be achieved through other means.

The Second Superior Court for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Caracas granted a woman’s petition for divorce, which she based on her husband’s voluntary abandonment for more than five years under Article 185 of the Venezuelan Civil Code. The husband sought constitutional review, leading the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice to interpret Article 185.

The Organic Law Against Organized Crime and Terrorism Financing (2005) criminalizes human trafficking and smuggling of persons under Articles 41 and 42, classifying them as organized crime offenses. The law imposes prison sentences of 20 to 25 years, which increase to 25 to 30 years when the victims are children or adolescents. These provisions strengthen protections for vulnerable populations and impose severe penalties on those involved in trafficking or smuggling in any form.