Dear JOhn,

Laws matter. Sex discrimination in law can promote and perpetuate violence against women and girls. 

Earlier this week we released the 5th Edition of our Words & Deeds report, highlighting sex discrimination in laws around the world. Now we need your help to hold governments to account for the commitments they have made to remove all sex discriminatory laws.

Article 137 of the Paraguay Penal Code provides a lower penalty for sexual offences against adolescent girls between the ages of 14 - 16 than for rape of a child or a woman. 

Article 137. (1)

The man who persuaded a woman of fourteen to sixteen years of age to perform extramarital intercourse, will be punished with penalty of fine.

This provision is known as an ‘estupro’ provision. Estupro provisions too often result in impunity for rapists when the victim is between 14 and 16 years old. Such estupro provisions are common across many Latin American countries. Call on President Mario Abdo Benítez to end impunity for rapists in Paraguay and eliminate estupro.

When there is silence on the issue of sexual violence in the law, or explicit discrimination, there is little to deter perpetrators from committing crimes and inadequate recourse for victims. 

Your support allows us to hold governments across the world accountable for repealing their sexist laws. Thank you for your continued commitment to the rights of women and girls

In solidarity,

Bárbara Jiménez-Santiago
Americas Regional Coordinator