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Bolivian Government Proposes Bill to Combat Impunity in Sexual Crimes Against Children and Adolescents

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María Alejandra Trujillo
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President Luis Arce’s government sent a bill to the Bolivian Parliament so that sexual crimes committed against children and adolescents do not expire, regarding to recent revelations of alleged abuses by Spanish priest Alfonso Pedrajas and others.

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The Bolivian government's proposed bill, titled "Fight against Impunity in Sexual Crimes against Infants, Girls, Boys, and Adolescents," aims to create mechanisms for victims of such crimes to attain justice or "symbolic reparation for the very serious damages" they have suffered.

In the same line, the Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada announced this weekend that the bill includes provisions to make all types of sexual crimes against minors non-expiring in the Penal Code. This would enable the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of these crimes, regardless of when they were committed, ensuring that those found guilty would be punished.

Bolivian Government Seeks to Expand Criminal Protection for Victims of Sexual Crimes Against Minors

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Additionally, the proposed bill aims to broaden the State's criminal protection against sexual crimes targeting minors. This would include providing victims with free access to information, legal representation, psychological treatment, and medical assistance.

Furthermore, Minister Prada expressed her concern over the ongoing problem of violations of the right to integrity of children and adolescents, with many of these crimes going unpunished. She stated that the main reason for such impunity is the victims' silence and inability to report the crimes due to a lack of understanding about what is happening to them, fear, or due to threats, extortion, or blame from their aggressors.

Minister Prada also reaffirmed the Bolivian government's condemnation of the events that were revealed at the end of April through an investigation by a Spanish media.

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Bolivian Attorney General's Office Receives Eight Complaints Against Catholic Priests for Sexual Abuse

According to the highest authority of the Bolivian Attorney General's Office, Juan Lanchipa, the office has received eight complaints in four cities against priests from the Catholic Society of Jesus, including four deceased Spaniards, for sexual abuse.

Likewise, Lanchipa revealed the news at a press conference and stated that the complaints are based in La Paz, Cochabamba, Tarija, and Santa Cruz.

The revelation of the abuses committed by Spanish cleric Alfonso 'Pica' Pedrajas, against over 80 minors since the 1970s, has shaken Bolivia in the past week.

The La Paz Prosecutor's Office has already received a complaint from the Society of Jesus (CJ) regarding Pedrajas' case, who died of cancer in 2009 at the age of 62.

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