Gender equality and the ability to fully exercise the human rights of women and girls, including the power to make decisions regarding their own bodies and live a life free of violence, is still a pending debt for most women and girls in the Latin American and the Caribbean region.
In the region, 32 of the 34 countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) have ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women or “Convention of Belém do Pará” (1994). However, only very few countries have included in their national legislations the sanction of all forms of gender- based violence established by this Convention. In those cases where legislation has advanced, it is not properly implemented and enforced.