(ii) it must be carried out by a professional with extensive knowledge and experience in cases of
sexual violence against children and adolescents; (iii) the victim or their legal representative,
depending on the degree of maturity of the child or adolescent, may choose the sex of the
professional person; (iv) the examination must be carried out by a health professional specialized in
the care of children with specific training to perform forensic medical examinations in cases of sexual
violence; (v) it must be carried out after the informed consent of the victim or their legal
representative, according to their level of maturity, taking into account the right of the child or
adolescent to be heard, and (vi) it will be carried out in an appropriate place and their right to privacy
will be respected, allowing the victim the presence of a trusted companion and prohibiting the
participation or presence of other professional persons who are not expressly authorized by the victim
or their legal representative.
207. Finally, in relation to the specific standardized protocol of comprehensive care for children and
adolescent victims of sexual violence, the Court considers that the State must provide protection
measures from the moment it becomes aware of the sexual violence, in accordance with the criteria
established in paragraphs 101, 103 and 105 of this judgment. In particular, the Court orders the
State to ensure that said protocol guarantees the establishment of special protections and specialized
medical, psychological and/or psychiatric support so that children and adolescents can participate
effectively in the criminal process according to their experiences and understanding and avoiding
revictimization. The protocol must also guarantee that assistance is provided before, during and after
the investigations and criminal proceedings to achieve the reintegration and rehabilitation of the
victims. In this regard, immediate and professional assistance, both medical, psychological, and
psychiatric, will be provided by specialized personnel, with a gender and childhood perspective, and
without discrimination, for the victims and their families, for the time necessary to achieve recovery.
The Court considers that this protocol should be directed not only to health personnel who participate
in cases of sexual violence, but also to social and family support personnel who provide
comprehensive care to victims, so it should include mechanisms for support provided to the victims
and their families. The protocol must also clearly establish coordination actions between different
state agencies that provide assistance to children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence
in Bolivia.
208. Bolivia must comply with the reparation measures provided for in this section within a period
of two years from the notification of this judgment. The State must also create a system of indicators
that measure the effectiveness of the protocols referred to above and verify, in a differentiated
manner and by gender and age, the substantive decrease in impunity with respect to crimes of sexual
violence committed against children and adolescents.328 To comply with this obligation, the State has
a period of two years from the adoption of the aforementioned protocols.
d.3.
Training and awareness-raising program
209. The Court notes that the training programs carried out by the executive and judicial body are
mostly focused on gender violence and violence against women and international standards on
human rights, without specifying situations of sexual violence against children and adolescents, and
that have not been issued to all people involved in the treatment of cases of sexual violence against
minors.329 Additionally, the Court notes that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has adopted a series of
Cf. Case of Digna Ochoa and family members v. Mexico, supra, para. 179, and Case of Sales Pimenta v. Brazil, supra,
para. 172.
329
The State indicated that it has adopted measures in the executive branch (Comprehensive Program to Fight Sexual
Violence); in the judicial branch (courses on human rights and international humanitarian law, on domestic regulations and
on gender issues); in the Public Prosecutor’s Office (courses related to general staff training issues and related to protection
of victims and witnesses and socialization of protocols related to crimes of sexual violence and gender violence); in the Bolivian
Police (instruments on the fight against violence against women), and in the Ministry of Health (technical-normative documents
on clinical care and for victims of sexual violence, to the continuity of life, model of comprehensive care for victims
328
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