Peace.- At least two femicides were reported in Bolivia, the first the death of a mother whose ex-partner set fire to her along with her two children and the discovery of the body of an abandoned woman on an avenue.
The departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz, Roger Mariaca, reported that a woman who was admitted to a hospital last Sunday with serious burns, after her ex-partner tried to burn her alive along with her two children, ages 4 and 10, died and the minors They have a guarded prognosis.
The Public Ministry issued an arrest warrant against the alleged femicide who is a fugitive from justice.
“The death of one of the victims, in this case the mother of two minors who are also very delicate in the Children’s Hospital, forces us to change the crime to femicide, the investigation began ex officio and all the elements collected will be referred to the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against Life, so that the investigation can continue,” Mariaca said in a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office.
According to neighbors who helped the woman and children, in the early hours of August 6 the victim’s ex-partner tied the mother and minors to a bed and set them on fire, then locked the door and fled.
The Prosecutor’s Office also opened another investigation for femicide after finding the body of a woman on an avenue in the city of La Paz, informed the departmental prosecutor, Wiliam Alave Laura.
The Public Ministry said in a statement that “according to the legal medical autopsy, carried out by the Institute of Forensic Investigations (IDIF), the victim died of closed head trauma and has signs of sexual assault.”
So far this year in Bolivia, 50 femicides and at least 15 infanticides have been registered, while 2022 closed with 94 women killed and 39 minors murdered.
According to official data, in the first half of 2023, 22,399 complaints related to attacks against women, adolescents and children were received, of which more than 17,000 correspond to cases of domestic violence.
Since 2013, Law 348 “Comprehensive Law to Guarantee Women a Life Free of Violence” has been in force in Bolivia, which establishes maximum penalties of 30 years in prison without the right to pardon.
However, different organizations have been claiming for several years that the norm is not fully complied with due to judicial delays, the lack of economic resources and trained personnel to deal with complaints of sexist violence.
In addition, Parliament has not yet processed a reform that was presented in July of last year by the Government of Luis Arce to “strengthen” Law 348.
A 2022 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranks Bolivia as the fourth most violent country for women in the world behind Pakistan, Senegal and Iran.
