8 March 2025
On International Women’s Day 2025, ABColombia recognises the persistent and structural violence that women communities face in Colombia. Despite progressive legal frameworks, gender-based violence remains deeply entrenched in society, exacerbated by the legacies of colonialism, patriarchy, racism, and classism. For Indigenous and Black women, as well as LGBTQI+ persons, these intersecting oppressions place them at heightened risk of violence, exploitation, and systemic discrimination.
Gender-Based Violence as a Structural Issue
Women in Colombia are acutely aware of the reasons they are targeted. On the one hand, many women are at the forefront of human rights and environmental activism, defending biodiverse territories of strategic and economic interest. On the other, militarisation has reinforced authoritarian and patriarchal attitudes, both within communities and inside homes, increasing domestic violence.
For Black and Indigenous girls and young women, structural racism, poverty, and Colombia’s colonial legacy create deep insecurity, making them particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and human trafficking. In cities like Cartagena, the disappearances and sexual exploitation of young Black women and girls are tied to sex tourism networks that involve local and international actors, including armed groups. These same networks also traffic drugs, arms, and people, exposing women to extreme levels of violence and vulnerability.
Barriers to Justice
Colombia has progressive legal protections for women on paper. However, the reality is starkly different. Protocols for handling sexual violence cases are either inadequate or ignored. Survivors who come forward face prejudice, discrimination, and re-victimisation from public officials, who often subject them to invasive questioning and victim-blaming attitudes. Additionally, the risk of sensitive case information being leaked is significant, particularly when perpetrators are linked to armed actors or when authorities collude with abusers.
Impunity fuels violence. When the state fails to hold perpetrators accountable, it reinforces the lack of justice for survivors and sends a dangerous message that gender-based violence is both acceptable and inevitable.
Transitional Justice and the Peace Process
One of the most crucial mechanisms for tackling impunity in Colombia is the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which is investigating cases of conflict-related sexual violence. The JEP’s mandate is to promote victims’ rights and ensure non-repetition, yet its restorative justice model places significant emphasis on perpetrators rather than on meeting the needs of survivors.
Women’s organisations and victims’ groups are advocating for reparations that address structural gender inequalities. Ongoing consultations aim to ensure that reparations are designed to improve women’s social, political, and economic conditions while promoting respect for their rights. However, these efforts require substantial political and financial backing.
The Role of the UK
The UK has verbally committed to including Colombia in its National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAP 1325), but this commitment has yet to be formally outlined. At this critical moment in Colombia’s peace and transitional justice process, the UK must provide clear, concrete support.
Key Recommendations for UK Action:
- Support feminist psychosocial programmes: Women’s organisations in Colombia are developing relational spaces of emotional and psychological support, providing a non-judgmental environment where survivors can share experiences and actively participate in justice processes.
- Ensure reparations are comprehensive and transformative: Reparations must go beyond individual compensation to address structural barriers to justice, economic empowerment, and political participation.
- Support Indigenous justice systems: Funding training programmes for Indigenous magistrates on handling cases of sexual violence and strengthening intercultural dialogue between women’s organisations and Indigenous authorities.
- Provide long-term, flexible funding: Core funding for local women’s organisations and LGBTQI+ grassroots groups is essential to sustain their work addressing gender-based violence, discrimination, and economic inequality.
This International Women’s Day, ABColombia recognises the tireless efforts of Colombian women’s organisations and feminist movements who are leading the fight for justice, accountability, equality and change. Their work is essential in dismantling systemic violence and ensuring a sustainable peace and equal society.
ABColombia’s latest report delves deeper into these issues, shedding light on the urgent need for justice, protection, and long-term support for those fighting against gender-based violence in Colombia, and is now available in Spanish.