In Bolivia, a specific law protects children and adolescents orphaned by femicide, granting them state support in the areas of economy, health, and education so they can continue their studies, even at the university level. Our correspondent Freddy Morales brings us the details. teleSUR
00:00In Bolivia, a specific law protects children and adolescents orphaned by femicide, granting them state support in the areas of economy, health and education so they can continue their studies, even at the university level.
00:13A correspondent, Fred Morales, has the story.
00:18The law expressly obliges the state to protect, until they reach adulthood, children and adolescents who are left orphaned, as a consequence of femicide.
00:30And we continue to suffer because the femicide perpetrator is either in prison or on the run, the victim of femicide is in the coffin, and the real victims of femicide the collateral victims are the children.
00:44Those children who at first are seen as the poor little orphans and are cared for, but later, like fish, they begin to be treated as if they smell bad.
00:52What's worse, they suffer abuse and mistreatment in an environment where they should have complete safety.
01:00The law recognizes the payment of 20% of the national minimum wage, about $70 per month, along with other benefits in favor of this population.
01:11An economic allowance of 20% of the minimum wage is granted, which amounts to about 500 bolivianos per month, along with a food package especially for children under 5 years old, access to education, and access to healthcare until the age of 18.
01:31However, if it is demonstrated that they continue studying, this support is extended until they reach 25 years of age.
01:43Bolivia is one of the few countries that has this type of legal provisions, which are in fact mandatory for states according to international agreements.
01:53It reaffirms and also demands the duty of due diligence.
01:59This duty of due diligence urges the state to comply with international treaties and conventions.
02:05This new law is based on the Bell M. du Pera Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
02:10In this sense, it establishes that the state must protect and give priority attention to boys and girls who have lost their mother or father in a situation of femicide.
02:18In a situation of femicide, the police act first and immediately afterward the child protection offices, which depend on the municipalities, the orphans are placed in the care of the maternal grandparents, if the victim is the mother.
02:37According to the latest record from the Observatory for the Enforcement of Rights, between 2016 and 2024, there were approximately 877 children orphaned due to femicide.
02:51What happens is that when a child loses their mother and the Office for the Defense of Children and Adolescents intervenes, the first step is to separate them from the family, which is the correct action, and the most appropriate protective measure.
03:02However, this also creates an environment of vulnerability and lack of protection for the child.
03:11The law, enacted at the beginning of this month by the previous government, requires a census of orphans who are victims of femicide.
03:20It confirmed that the majority of cases occur under the influence of alcohol, and therefore establishes a 1% tax on those beverages to help finance part of this protection program.
03:31In this country, an average of 100 femicides are recorded each year.
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