Uruguay: Information on the support network and the complaint/recourse mechanisms available to women who have been the victims of sexual assault by para militaries, policemen and military, particularly in the Montevideo, La Paz area
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 July 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | URY21267.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Uruguay: Information on the support network and the complaint/recourse mechanisms available to women who have been the victims of sexual assault by para militaries, policemen and military, particularly in the Montevideo, La Paz area, 1 July 1995, URY21267.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad1630.html [accessed 3 June 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. |
According to a 22 July 1995 fax sent to the DIRB by the Grupo de Estudios sobre la Condición de la Mujer en Uruguay (GRECMU), a Montevideo based NGO which works on problems affecting women, there is no specific legislation other than the civil code to deal with sexual assault in Uruguay.
Sexual assault falls in the category of common crime and there are no police or military jurisdictions that consider this type of offense, according to GRECMU.
The fax mentions that since the end of the dictatorship, there is a higher percentage of violence in which the agressor was a military or a police official (the source does not specify in this particular statement whether the violence is domestic, although the statement is provided as part of a response on domestic violence). These cases were made worse by the concealment of this violence by these official's superiors. Therefore, concludes the fax, there is still a risk for many women to report domestic violence to police precincts (comisarías policiales).
For the most recent information on domestic violence in Uruguay, please consult Response to Information Request URY20916.E of 25 July 1995.
Reference
Grupo de Estudios sobre la Condición de la Mujer en Uruguay (GRECMU). 21 July 1995. Letter sent to the DIRB.
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.
