Venezuela: Legal recourse available against a parent who abuses or threatens to abuse a child after a divorce, protection and resources available (1990-2001)

Further to VEN33338.E of 29 December 1999 and VEN28720.F and VEN28721.E of 4 February 1998, which provide recent detailed information on resources and recourse in cases of domestic violence, additional information on the subject covering from 1993 to 2000 can be found in VEN15445.E of 22 October 1993, VEN20240.E of 17 March 1995 and VEN33945.E of 28 February 2000. Please note that, as explained in the texts below and the attached articles, a Law Against Violence Toward Women and Children came into force in January 1999.

For 1995, Country Reports provided the following information on the situation of children and resources available for those at risk:

... The Government scaled back its expenditure on education, health, and social services, leaving many impoverished children with no government assistance. While the law provides for universal free education, the Government dedicates very little funding to primary and secondary education. Many government agencies responsible for the welfare of children are plagued by corruption, and government funding often does not reach the children it is intended to help. In addition, many reform institutions for young delinquents are in deplorable condition.

According to children's rights groups, the recent increase in poverty has raised the level of stress within families and led to a rise in the number of abandoned children and to more child abuse. However, neighbors often hesitate to report cases of child abuse, due to a fear of entanglement with the authorities and ingrained attitudes regarding family privacy. The overburdened judicial system, though very slow, generally ensures that in most situations children are removed from abusive households once a case has been reported. Public facilities for such children, however, are inadequate and have poorly trained staff (Feb. 1996, Sec. 5).

For 1998, the same publication reported:

The Government continued to scale back its expenditure on education, health, and social services. While the law provides for universal free education ... over 400,000 children are not eligible to receive government assistance, including public education, because their birth is not documented properly. The Government is attempting to remedy this problem with new regulations to standardize the registration of children's births.

. ... An increase in poverty has raised the level of stress within families and led to a rise in the number of abandoned children and to more child abuse. A survey by the National Institute for Minors in 1994 determined that 206,000 children were involved in illicit activities, principally begging but also petty theft, prostitution, and drug trafficking. Some 40,000 children were exploited sexually, according to a 1994 study. There were also reports of trafficking in children from other South American countries to work in Caracas as street vendors and housemaids. ...

Reports of child abuse are rare due to a fear of entanglement with the authorities and ingrained attitudes regarding family privacy. The overburdened judicial system, although very slow, generally ensures that in most situations children are removed from abusive households once a case has been reported. However, public facilities for such children are inadequate and have poorly trained staff (Feb. 1999, Sec. 5).

Finally, in its most recent edition Country Reports provides the following information on the subject:

Government expenditures on education, health, and social services increased during the year due to an improved economy and a larger government budget. While the law provides for universal free education ... both primary and secondary education chronically underfunded. According to UNICEF, only 75 percent of eligible children enter the first grade. During the year, some 500,000 children attended school for the first time when the Government prohibited registration fees. However, the 2000 annual report of the Community Centers for Learning (CECODAP) stated that 500,000 children are not eligible to receive government assistance, including public education, because their births are not documented properly. In 1998 the Government attempted to remedy this problem by adopting a new regulation that requires hospitals to register the births of all children; during the year, the Government sent mobile teams into poor neighborhoods to register minors.

... The authorities in Caracas and several other jurisdictions tried to cope with the phenomenon of street children by continuing to impose curfews for unsupervised minors. Children's rights advocates claim that curfews permit the police to act arbitrarily in detaining persons who have committed no crime. Because reform institutions are filled to capacity, hundreds of children accused of infractions are confined in juvenile detention centers.

In October 1997, Amnesty International reported past incidents in which minors were subjects of extrajudicial killings and abuse, as well as deficiencies in law and practice with regard to the detention of children. For example, security forces and law enforcement authorities often detain minors together with adults. In April Congress passed the Organic Procedural Law on Adolescents and Children (a criminal code); however, observers expressed concern over the slow implementation of the law's provisions.

Reports of child abuse are rare due to a fear of entanglement with the authorities and ingrained attitudes regarding family privacy. The overburdened judicial system, although very slow, generally ensures that in most situations children are removed from abusive households once a case has been reported. However, public facilities for such children are inadequate and have poorly trained staff.

Children's rights advocates criticized the Government's efforts to reunite children and parents who had been separated in the flooding in Vargas state. At year's end, some 12 months after the natural disaster, some children still were separated from their families. CECODAP estimates that there are 120 children in refugee centers who have not yet been returned to their families. The national Ombudsman's office is investigating whether some of these children may have been trafficked. There were also reports of trafficking in children from other South American countries to work in Caracas as street vendors and housemaids (Feb. 2001, Sec. 5).

In the same section, under the heading "Women," Country Reports 2000 provides the following information on domestic violence, much of which includes references to children or to domestic violence in general:

... A total of 14,683 cases of domestic violence were reported to the authorities in 1997, the most recent year for which statistics were available. According to local monitors, the police generally are unwilling to intervene to prevent domestic violence, and the courts rarely prosecute those accused of such abuse. In addition, poor women generally are unaware of legal remedies and have little access to them. On January 1, the 1999 Law Against Violence Toward Women and Children came into force. The PTJ opened the division against violence to accommodate its provisions. This law requires the police to receive reports of domestic violence and obligates hospital personnel to advise authorities of abuse.

The law makes rape extremely difficult to prove, requiring at a minimum medical examination within 48 hours of the violation. A provision in the Penal Code provides that a man guilty of rape can avoid punishment if, before sentencing, he marries the victim. Few police officers are trained to deal responsibly with rape victims. In 1997, the most recent year for which statistics were available, the police received 7,426 reports of sexual crimes, of which over 3,600 were cases of rape. However, women's organizations assert that such low figures do not accurately portray the problem of rape and sexual assault. They claim that many victims do not report the incident or press charges due to societal pressure and their own feelings of guilt. There were reports that a number of rapes were committed in Vargas state in December 1999 during the lawlessness that followed the flooding.

In 1996 the National Women's Council (which was reorganized during the year and renamed the National Institute for Women), an agency of the presidency with representation from the Ministries of Justice, Education, Family, Health, and Labor, prepared a manual on violence against women and children, which includes information on where the victims might obtain assistance.

There are a number of NGO's concerned with domestic violence, sex education, and economic discrimination. However, the recommendations of these groups have not been implemented widely by the police or other concerned governmental agencies (ibid.).

Please find attached two articles that describe provisions related to domestic abuse of a new law that came into force in January 1999, and which is referred to in the first paragraph.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000. February 2001. "Venezuela." United States Department of State. Washington, D.C. [Accessed 24 Oct. 2001]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. February 1999. "Venezuela." Washington, DC: US Department of State. [Accessed 24 Oct. 2001]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995. February 1996. "Venezuela." United States Department of State, Washington, DC. (REFWORLD)

Attachments

Inter Press Service (IPS). 11 January 1999. Estrella Gutierrez. "Rights-Venezuela: Domestic Abuse Will No Longer Go Unpunished." (NEXIS)

_____. 20 August 1998. Estrella Gutierrez. "Rights-Venezuela: Finally, a Law Against Domestic Violence." (NEXIS)