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Bolivian women gather to demonstrate against sexual violence.

Ipas

A three-year project to combat sexual violence came to a close with the presentation of the documentary En Carne Propia, (or, roughly translated as either In the Flesh or First-Hand Experience). Launched in August 2005, the project was a joint effort by Ipas Bolivia and Marie Stopes International Bolivia to educate women about their right to live free of violence and fear.

More than 100 people, including representatives from local and national governments as well as international non-government organizations, participated in the closing ceremony. Eliana Del Pozo, director of Ipas Bolivia, thanked the British Department for International Development/Civil Society Challenge Fund (DFID/CSCF) for their help, saying that the intervention in six municipalities was only the beginning. "There is still much work to be done, and the commitment of all members of society will be needed in order to denounce sexual violence in other parts of the country and educate the public about this issue of social justice and public health," said Del Pozo.

En Carne Propia presents testimonies of victims of sexual violence who benefitted from the project. Waldo Albarracín, the La Paz public prosecutor, visibly moved by the stories, said that “the documentary has already awakened the compassion of the audience and is an example that should be imitated.”

The project's objective was to reduce sexual violence and its consequences for women and adolescents. It used an integrated approach that  focused on: human rights and sexual equality; creating standardized care for victims of sexual violence that integrated legal, health and psycho-social services; and empowering victims so that they understand and can demand their rights. Ipas and Marie Stopes tested the approach in six municipalities with high levels of sexual violence: Caranavi, Padilla, Quillacollo, Warnes, Riberalta and Cobija.

The project reached an estimated 60,035 people directly and 208,600 people indirectly, using a communications campaign designed to improve the knowledge of women, adolescents and the general population about prevention and detection of, and care following, sexual violence.

The project's first national symposium, “Sexual violence: A public health and social-justice problem,” brought commitments from policymakers working in areas of health and justice. For the first time in Bolivia, these sectors met and signed an “act of commitment” in which they agreed to work together to fight sexual violence by shaping public policy, improving the quality of data collection about sexual violence, and clarifying legal criteria for the definition of sexual violence.

Additionally, Ipas and Marie Stopes worked with law-enforcement officials to design, produce and distribute evidence-collection boxes for cases of sexual violence. These boxes guarantee the care of forensic evidence, thereby improving the judicial process for victims of sexual violence.

However, Del Pozo believes governments must still commit to fully addressing the issue: “Government should focus on prevention, detection and care of victims in an integrated manner. The reduction of sexual violence should become an active priority for the state. Implementation of the project’s model of care for survivors’ of sexual violence should be strengthened and expanded to other municipalities.”

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For more information, contact media@ipas.org