“Like Patchwork” : Ecuador’s Slow Progress Tackling and Preventing School-Related Sexual Violence

By Human Rights WatchNew

In Ecuador, sexual violence is endemic in schools, and survivors face an uphill battle to finding support and accessing justice. In 2020, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled against Ecuador in Paola Guzmán Albarracín v Ecuador, the court’s first ever case on school-related sexual violence. The Court ordered Ecuador to improve prevention of and response to sexual violence in schools, and to ensure access to justice and comprehensive reparations. “Like Patchwork”: Ecuador’s Slow Progress Tackling and Preventing School-Related Sexual Violence examines the progress the Ecuadorian government has made toward tackling sexual violence in schools, including the measures the government has adopted to comply with the Inter-American court’s ruling. Based on 68 interviews between 2022 and 2024, the report finds that despite commitments by government institutions, sexual violence remains endemic in Ecuador’s schools. Ecuador reports thousands of cases of school-related sexual violence perpetrated by teachers, directors, other school staff, janitors, bus drivers, and often students. Many schools still fail to report abuses, contravening their obligations. Survivors also face obstacles in the judicial system. Barriers to carrying out robust investigations and effective prosecutions of cases of school-based sexual violence obstruct survivors’ ability to find justice, contribute to their re-traumatization, and lead to impunity for perpetrators. Human Rights Watch calls on the Ecuadorian government to effectively tackle and prevHunt sexual violence against students. It should also ensure effective investigations and prosecutions of all cases of school-related sexual violence, so survivors can find justice and reparations for the abuses they have suffered. 

New York:  Human Rights WAtch, 2024. 65p.