Bolivia Confronts Domestic Violence

October 28, 2015 | Pulitzer Center

Noah Friedman-Rudovsky

When Natalia was hit by her husband last year, she figured there was nothing to do, but her daughters told her about Bolivia's new domestic violence and femicide law and convinced her to denounce him to the police. She and her husband are now in a therapy program on domestic violence, and she has forced him to live in a separate room in their home in El Alto, Bolivia. Experts hope the new law will begin to have more of an impact in preventing violence. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Natalia's daughters took a photo of her after they found her beaten by her husband. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Natalia spent months navigating the bureaucracy of Bolivia's judicial system as she sought to make her denunciation official in case she needed it for divorce proceedings. The cost and time of forcing their cases among police, prosecutors, and medical examiners deter many women from reporting abuse. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

A policewoman a the special domestic violence unit drowns in paperwork in El Alto, Bolivia. Police and the justice system are criticized for being inefficient and corrupt, letting the problem of domestic violence and femicide spread. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Abused women often have nowhere to escape or to find consistent counseling. There is only one transitional shelter in La Paz and El Alto, a metropolitan area of nearly 2 million, where as many as half of the women may be victims of domestic violence. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Family members grieve for Maria Isabel Pilco, who was allegedly beaten to death by her husband, David Viscarra. Pilco's case was one of scores of femicides in Bolivia in 2014 that began to put the issue of domestic violence on the nation's agenda. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

A forensics team performs an autopsy on Maria Isabel Pilco amid piles of dead bodies at La Paz's precarious morgue, as police officers stand guard. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Family members protest the death of Maria Isabel Pilco, demanding an end to impunity, outside a courthouse in La Paz, Bolivia. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

David Viscarra, accused of beating his wife to death, waits for his arraignment hearing in La Paz, Bolivia. Officers were forced to sneak him out of the building for fear that protesters would attempt to kill him. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Family members hold a vigil outside the La Paz morgue, pressuring the police and media to address the case of Maria Isabel Pilco who was allegedly beaten to death by her husband just weeks before the police and hospital had sent her home following a similar beating. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

The accused, David Viscarra, stands at the end of a hallway filled with family members, police officers, and reporters as they wait for his hearing. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Family members deal with paperwork as an autopsy is performed on their loved one. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

The mother of Maria Isabel Pilco is greeted by friends and the public at her daughter's funeral. Hundreds of people turned out for her funeral as Bolivian society begins to come to terms with gender-based violence. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

La Paz's only shelter for abused women offers very basic accommodations, but it provides a safe refuge and psychological assistance for women who have nowhere else to go. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Women bond with each other and their kids at the Dignity Shelter in La Paz, Bolivia, which provides a crucial safe haven for women who experts say could end up as victims of feminicide if they remained at home. The shelter is the only one of its kind in a country of 10 million people with the highest levels of domestic violence in Latin America. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

Women cook together at the shelter. A new Bolivian law requires that each Bolivian municipality provide a shelter for battered women. Officials are debating this year how to implement and fund the initiative. Image by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky. Bolivia, 2015.

According to recent studies, Bolivia has the highest domestic violence rate in the region, with some 7 in 10 women saying they have been the victim of some form of violence (physical or psychological) during their lives. For years, the issue was not discussed publicly or addressed by politicians. But in recent years, after a string of high-profile cases and femicides, Bolivian society has begun to take notice. New laws were enacted to protect women and public awareness campaigns were launched. During a 6-month investigation into the issue, Noah Friedman-Rudovsky found that many women have become newly aware of their rights and are less likely to accept abuse at home. But the culture of machismo, the difficulty women find in denouncing their cases to the justice system, and the economic dependence of many women are still major obstacles to easing the situation of violence against women.