In 2020, WIGJ together with local partner Women’s Link Worldwide, engaged in a project in Colombia to raise awareness on The Hague Principles on Sexual Violence. Through advocacy, public awareness campaigns and expert meetings we raise awareness about “other forms of sexual violence” to increase reporting and recognition of these acts as forms of conflict related sexual violence in Colombian accountability efforts.

The project complements established justice initiatives undertaken by a variety of national and regional actors, including by the Colombian Attorney General’s office and the JEP. By identifying categories of acts that might amount to sexual violence, the project works toward helping survivors, first responders and aid workers in identifying and recognizing sexual violence in conflict, especially in situations of particular vulnerability (e.g. migration) and respond accordingly. A better understanding of all forms of sexual violence impacts on the mapping of sexual violence in conflict and helps reveal a more sophisticated understanding of some of the gendered aspects of conflict dynamics.

Read more about the project in Spanish here.

In 2021, with the support of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, WIGJ engaged in consultations with representatives of civil society and JEP to gather input for a Practical Guide on Acts of Sexual Nature. The Guide was developed to help Colombian practitioners better understand the various forms of sexual violence and features:

• an introductory document explaining the legal context, obstacles in working towards accountability for sexual violence in Colombia, definitions etc.
• the guide itself with indicia on how to qualify an act as sexual, a non-exhaustive list of examples and references to jurisprudence;
• a matrix of referenced case-law; and
• a summary of key findings from the expert consultations.