Colombia’s government and judicial authorities have failed to implement policies to reduce widespread sexual violence against children.

On top of that and for decades, the government has failed to develop strategies that would allow officials, scholars or activists to paint an accurate picture of child abuse and exploitation.

Children and parents seeking justice for sex crimes are more often than not revictimized multiple times because of the lack of coordination between, for example, prosecutors and social workers.

Consequently, vast numbers of victims abandon their quest for justice, which in some cases may take more than a decade, the executive secretary of NGO Alianza por Los Niños, Angelica Cuenca, told Colombia Reports.

How serious is the situation?

Between 2018 and 2023, the Medical Examiner’s Office examined 119,324 children and minors who were allegedly the victim of sexual violence.

Type of sexual violence against children (2021)

In a report that was published in December last year, Alianza por los Niños said that more than three quarters of the reported cases of sexual violence in 2021 were allegedly committed at home.

The alleged perpetrators were family members of the victim in more than half of the cases that ended up with the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Alleged perpetrators of sexual violence (2021)

Impunity for sexual violence against children

According to the Prosecutor General’s victim database, only 1,389 people were convicted for sexual violence against children since 2018.

This is less than two percent of the children examined by medical professionals because of alleged sexual violence in the same period.

The real number of victims is likely much higher than the one registered by the Medical Examiner’s Office because of underreporting of sexual violence.

This is particularly an issue in areas where State authorities have historically been absent and in cases of sexual exploitation, which often is not reported.

Chaotic State approach

How many child victims of sexual abuse there really are is a guess as authorities barely collect relevant information and share this with each other, according to Alianza Por Las Victimas.

For example, the number of underage victims of sexual violence attended by the family welfare agency ICBF between 2017 and 2022 is half the number of victims registered by the prosecution, the NGO stressed in its December report.

This lack of communication between the multiple institutions effectively contributes to impunity for perpetrators.

In many cases, victims abandon their quest for justice because they have to repeat their account of the allegedly committed sex crimes multiple times.

Another major issue is the time that it takes for law enforcement or the judicial branch to respond.

Reports by Alianza por la Niñez and the Ombudsman’s Officer show that the prosecution in some cases needs more than a decade to call a suspected child abuser to court.

According to Cuencas, victims are often removed from home because of the time it takes to impose protective measures that would keep their alleged victimizer away.

Despite repeated calls for action, authorities have yet to come up with reforms that would allow an effective approach to prevent or prosecute sexual violence against children.