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It is suspected that the abuses were committed by soldiers stationed in the area. The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare has more than 500 registered complaints in recent years, a figure that may increase. From Davos, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced a series of measures to stop these events.
The Colombian State recognized the situation experienced by indigenous minors in the department of Guaviare for at least five years. And it is that this January 19 confirmed that 69 girls from the communities in danger of extinction, Jiw and Nukak, have been victims of sexual abuse.
The alleged crimes were committed by soldiers stationed in the areas of stay of the indigenous groups. The military authorities have a strong presence in this Colombian region, historically known for being one of the most troubled territories in the armed conflict of this Latin American nation.
The first information that was received regarding the subject came at the end of last year from the journalist Gerardo Reyes, from the Univisión network, which generated a barrage of criticism of the work of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, ICBF, directed by a close to the presidential family.
The alarm signal caused the ICBF to carry out an visit to Guaviare on behalf of the country’s leadership. The entity now has in its records some 587 cases of abuse that occurred on the site between 2018 and 2020. In this sense, the work of the National Prosecutor’s Office has also been questioned for ignoring the issue or not taking action on it.
The information coming from the Casa de Nariño suggested a kind of ‘mea culpa’.
“A critical food situation is reported in these communities, which has not been addressed from a differential approach or through a food sovereignty approach thought of in those jungle territories and based on the food memory of these indigenous peoples.”
According to the ICBF, these are not the only problems that affect those who belong to the aforementioned indigenous communities. The critical nutritional situation they are going through, as well as the consumption of psychoactive substances, are also pointed out as being one of the main causes of abuse.
As for the food crisis, this “means that children go down to look for food”, a fact that human trafficking and micro-trafficking networks take advantage of in that area, which presumably has a ploy for the sexual and commercial exploitation of minors.
In an interview with France 24, the researcher of the Sisma Mujer Organization, Laura Márquez Ramírez, highlighted “the great vulnerability that these girls suffer in their territories and the difficulty they have in accessing justice to denounce these cases, which according to reports indicate , were allegedly committed by soldiers deployed in the area. The fact that they are minors and that they are also indigenous are barriers that make it difficult for them to access justice.”
The response of the House of Narino
President Petro’s reaction was immediate. The president, who is in the Swiss city of Davos to participate in the World Economic Forum, responded to the fact that ICBF officials who allegedly omitted the abuses and the military involved in them will be investigated.
These days, the attorney general’s office had already reported on the investigation into six Army soldiers for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl from the Nukak community.
Among the measures that the Executive will take are the deployment on the site of two special units that will attend to the needs of the indigenous population and another focused on gender violence. The Childhood and Adolescence Police will have an important presence in the place. Another of the provisions is the location of attention points for victims and the communication of the necessary information to avoid new reports of abuses.
With EFE and local media
