Gender Violence Bill presented in Uruguay
Date:
Uruguay’s Council of Ministers has just approved a Government bill that aims "to guarantee women a life free of gender-based violence." The bill, which will now go to the Senate, not only defines gender violence and how it manifests itself but would also bring about a change to current criminal law and create an institutional response system as well as specialized courts.
This comprehensive Government bill received the input of all of Uruguay’s ministries involved in the drafting of specific sections on education, work, public security and the public prosecutor’s office, among others. It also includes special sections focused on children and adolescents, the elderly and disabled women. The bill equally seeks to create a watchdog committee to monitor the problem.
UN Women Uruguay explains that the draft law was the result of a consultancy to revise the framework legislation on gender-based violence and of the work of a 2012-2015 UN Trust Fund to End of Violence against Women project run by UN Women and the Government of Uruguay. Building on those inputs, in the second half of 2015—in the context of a joint collaboration agreement between UN Women, PAHO/WHO and INMUJERES [The National Women’s Institute]—support was offered to the National Advisory Council on the Fight against Domestic Violence, which culminated in the drafting of the aforementioned bill with the technical assistance of legal professionals.
Read the full article on the website for UN Women’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.