According to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, between January and June 2024, 23,826 cases of domestic violence were registered, adding that events of violence in the context of a couple reached 20,217 cases, mainly affecting women.
Likewise, the Ombudsman’s Office called on all government institutions to implement real and effective public policies that allow progress in the eradication of gender violence, since it has knowledge, based on its work carried out in the territories and the operation of its Contigo App, of 47 femicides that occurred between January and May of this year in the country.
And as of June 2024, a total of 66,621 cases of gender violence were notified to the National Institute of Health, through records in institutions providing health services.
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Strategies applicable in the country
In this sense, the Attorney General of the Nation, Margarita Cabello, held a key meeting in Washington with the technical team of the Inter-American Commission of Women of the OAS (CIM), in which the experiences and good practices in the region, to confront gender violence and promote the guarantee of the rights of rural women in the country.
Already within the framework of the meeting, the official confirmed that, according to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, between January and June 2024, 23,826 cases of domestic violence were registered, adding that events of violence in the context of couples reached the 20,217 cases, mainly affecting women.
“It is essential to join forces to achieve gender equality and equity. We receive feedback from everything that the OAS (CIM) is doing and it will be very useful to continue fighting for the gender perspective and the differential approach led by the new Attorney General’s Office,” explained the head of the Public Ministry.
Finally, in the meeting with senior members of the international organization, the possibility of the control body joining the efforts of the Inter-American Decade for the Rights of All Adolescent Women and Girls in Rural Environments of the Americas (2024) was also explored. -2034), focusing on the eradication of exclusion, discrimination and violence suffered by rural women.
“Our role is to be accelerators of the implementation of clear and funded public policies, monitoring their compliance so that every woman in Colombia, especially those in vulnerable situations, can live in conditions of equity and free of violence,” emphasized the attorney general.
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Confirmed facts
Now, as of June of this year, a total of 66,621 cases of gender violence were notified to the National Institute of Health, through records in institutions providing health services. The general director of the entity called for zero tolerance against any type of violence, especially against women and children, who are the most vulnerable.
Now, gender violence is a public health problem that, in the case of Colombia, is concentrated in the most vulnerable populations, and is more frequent in women, with the implications it has for the maintenance of their health and exercise their health rights.
According to Giovanny Rubiano García, general director of the INS: “a violated woman has a greater risk of suffering from illnesses related to her mental health, as well as greater difficulty in accessing care for the different causes of illness and death in women, which They are related to maternal, reproductive, sexual and other health.”
Not to re-victimize
In addition, the INS calls on the authorities, media and Internet users to follow these recommendations to handle it ethically, respectfully and contribute to the generation of awareness about the responsibility of the ways of communicating in the persistence of these events.
The National Health Observatory (ONS) of the same entity, in order to promote the protection of the dignity of women who have been victims of any type of violence and their families, reminds us of the responsibility of the media and society in general with access to social networks, about the existence of the “Guide for reporting on violence against women in the media”, prepared by journalists against violence against women and the UNDP.
“Gender-based violence is a serious public health problem and reflects the deep inequalities that exist in our society. Their intervention depends on the way in which the media handles information regarding these types of events, so that they do not perpetuate sexist stereotypes or re-victimize,” says Carlos Castañeda Orjuela, director of the ONS of the INS.
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The attention provided by the Ombudsman’s Office
In turn, the Delegate for Women’s Rights and Gender Affairs of the entity attended to a total of 3,710 cases of gender-based violence against women and people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (OSIGD). Compared to the same period of the previous year, there was a 36% increase in attendance.
It is worrying that psychological violence continues to predominate, with 2,783 cases; They were followed by physics, with 1,461; economic, 1,158; patrimonial, 746, and sexual, with 577 cases. It is important to note that, in a single incident attended to, different types of violence can be recorded.
The five departments where the highest number of gender-based violence cases were concentrated were Bolívar, with 333 cases; Antioquia and Norte de Santander, with 321 cases each; Valle del Cauca, with 294, and Cundinamarca, with 258.
The ‘App With You’
And with the implementation of its Contigo App, the Ombudsman’s Office has managed to register cases and requests in real time, notifying its Gender Duties to manage care for victims or people who are at risk of gender violence, violence due to prejudice or human trafficking. This management has allowed, in a timely and effective manner, to greatly improve the institutional response time.
However, the competent entities must put a stop to the violence that continues to affect women and OSIGD people who, as victims, must find a timely institutional response, so that their rights to life and integrity do not continue to be violated.
Finally, during the XXXVII Assembly of the Supreme Audit Institutions of South America in Barranquilla, Vice President Francia Márquez denounced the alarming impunity in cases of violence against women in Colombia. According to data from Legal Medicine, between May 2023 and May 2024, 630 femicides were reported, which shows the seriousness of the situation.
Márquez stressed the need for effective collaboration between the national Government and territorial entities, including the Attorney General’s Office and the Superior Council of the Judiciary. He stated that the current impunity not only favors the perpetrators, but also undermines confidence in the judicial system.