Uruguay calls for law vs gender violence

Uruguay’s Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi on Monday called for the Parliament to pass a law against gender violence, drafted by the government. (Photo by Pedro Felipe – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,)

MONTEVIDEO—Uruguay’s Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi on Monday called for the Parliament to pass a law against gender violence, drafted by the government.

Speaking to the National Gender Council in Montevideo, ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, Bonomi called gender violence “a cultural, social, educational problem, which must be faced. Without facing it collectively, we cannot end it.

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He stated that the ministry had passed protocols to handle situations of gender violence among its staff, such as sexual assault or discrimination in the workplace, although he added more should be done for these to be respected.

He also stated that a program of electronic ankle bracelets applied to around 1,000 cases of gender violence had worked so far and would be extended across the country.

The use of electronic ankle bracelets alarms the police if the aggressor gets into the restriction zone established by the court.

So far in 2017, Uruguay has registered eight feminicides, leading to a series of protests by feminist groups in the country and a new push for the gender violence law to be passed.

In 2016, at least 24 women were murdered in gender violence cases in Uruguay.