Uruguay: Information on whether the legislation on domestic violence is enforced and on whether women's organizations are able to provide shelter/protection to women victims of domestic violence
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | URY20916.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Uruguay: Information on whether the legislation on domestic violence is enforced and on whether women's organizations are able to provide shelter/protection to women victims of domestic violence, 1 July 1995, URY20916.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab5b54.html [accessed 17 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The following information, which was found in the 1994 annual report of Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ), Uruguay's foremost human rights organization, adds to the information provided in Responses to Information Requests URY14897.E of 9 August 1993 and URY19473.E of 20 January 1995.
The SERPAJ report states that "some advances have been accomplished during 1993 with regard to the gradual creation of defense instruments for women facing discrimination in general" (October 1994, 53). The report describes these instruments as "specific precincts" [comisarías especificas] in the countryside and "centres of attention and support" [centros de atención y apoyo] (ibid.).
With respect to domestic violence, the SERPAJ report contains produced an analysis of phone calls received by the "Orientation and Support Services for Women Victims of Violence" [Servicio de Apoyo y Orientación a la Mujer Víctima de Violencia], a section of the Intendencia de Montevideo, for the period June 1993 to June 1994. The following is a breakdown of the statistics compiled in the report:
Types of violence Forms of violence suffered
Domestic abuse: 3185 Threats: 680
Non-domestic abuse: 209 Actual violence: 2315
Sexual abuse: 70 Actual violence resulting
S/D: 751 from threats: 311
S/D: 919
According to the report, these results are similar to those obtained during the 1991-1992 period. Please note that the acronym S/D stands for "sin datos," which translates into English as "no information available."
Legal initiatives were launched during the period 1993-1994 regarding domestic violence, but SERPAJ's report states that of the four bills [proyectos de ley] that have been studied by Parliament, only one was passed. However, the report does not mention the bill's name. SERPAJ's report also state that the incorporation of the Institute for Prevention and Rehabilitation into the Ministry of Culture was formalized through an amendment to the "Accountability Law" [ley de Rendición de Cuentas].
The report also claims that numerous meetings on domestic violence were organized in the countryside as a result of the initiatives of various NGOs specializing in domestic violence matters. These meetings were held in Rocha and Durazno (see map attached) and benefited from official support.
Care centres for women have been installed in the city of Mercedes, in the department of Soriano, and in Tucuarembó, in the department of the same name. A centre to provide information and advice to women and their relatives was established in Paso de los Toros, which is the second most important city in the department of Tucuarembó. This centre is similar to the one found in the city of Trinidad in the department of Flores.
The report also mentions that on 24 April 1994, Uruguayan NGOs organized a public demonstration to denounce the murders of 24 women by men who were emotionally involved with them, as well as protest against domestic violence and the physical and sexual abuses suffered by many women and children. The report does not specify the number of people who attended the demonstration.
The DIRB has received a 21 July 1995 facsimile from the Grupo de Estudios sobre la Condición de la Mujer en Uruguay (GRECMU) in response to DIRB questions on domestic violence in Uruguay. Please find attached an official translation of the GRECMU document prepared by the multilingual translation directorate of Public Works and Government Services Canada.
For general information on gender relations in Uruguay, please consult the attachment.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ).1994. Derechos Humanos en Uruguay: Informe 1994. Montevideo: SERPAJ.
Attachment
Uruguay: A Country Study. 1992. 2nd ed. Edited by Rex A. Hudson and Sandra W. Meditz. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, pp. xxii, 77-80.
Additional Sources Consulted
Boletin Red Feminista Latinoamericana y del Caribe contra la Violencia Doméstica y Sexual.
Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.
Discrimination Against Women. 1989. London: McFarland.
Making Women Matter. 1990. London: Zed Books.
Sisterhood is Global.
Women and Men in Society. 1986. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Women's Movements of the World. 1990. London: Longman.
Women-Nation-State. 1989. London: McMillan.
The World's Women. Yearly. New York: United Nations.
