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How to Make the Law Work? Budgetary Implications of Domestic Violence (DV)
Laws in Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean (LAC)
Dinys Luciano, Simel Esim and Nata Duvvury
International Center for Research on Women
Presented at “Women Working to Make a Difference,” IWPR’s Seventh International
Women’s Policy Research Conference, June 2003
Abstract
This paper focuses on budgetary implications of DV laws in the Latin America, Central
American, and the Caribbean (LAC) region. It is based on a survey of literature and data
on DV legislation; literature reviews on the social and economic costs of DV; and an
analysis of policies on DV in the region. The study shows DV is not being mainstreamed
into ministerial budget line items as would be expected following the passage of law.
There is clearly a difference between what is ratified in laws and the implementation of
activities that follows those decisions. Funding for DV programs is insufficient to reach
the entire target population and address the magnitude of the problem. Even after laws
were passed, major sources of funding for DV services have continued to be discretionary
funds from the ministries’ budgets and international donor funds.
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Introduction
This study is focused on budgetary implications of domestic violence (DV) laws in Chile,
Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, and Mexico. DV is one of
the most important human rights and development problems in the LAC region. Its costs
are enormous, including time and resources for medical treatment, psychological
counseling, police services, prison and detention, shelter and transitional housing, DV
education and advocacy as well as personal and family pain and suffering.
Over the past decade, several countries in Latin America, Central America and the
Caribbean (LAC) have taken specific legal action to address DV. The first generation of
policies related to gender violence consisted mainly of those ratified through inter