78
248. In this case, the Court notes that I.V. had access to the Bolivian State’s public health care
services (supra paras. 62 and 63), even though the health care provided disregarded the elements
of accessibility and acceptability (supra paras. 156 and 164). Despite this, the facts of this case do
not reveal that the decision to perform the tubal ligation on I.V. was based on her nationality of
origin, her situation as a refugee, or her socio-economic status. Nevertheless, the Court considers
that these aspects had an impact on the magnitude of the harm suffered by I.V. in the sphere of her
personal integrity. And this is notwithstanding what the Court establishes below in relation to the
search to obtain justice (infra paras. 318 to 321).
249. Based on the above, the Court concludes that the State incurred international responsibility
owing to the discrimination experienced by I.V., on the basis of her condition as a woman, with
regard to the enjoyment and exercise of the rights established in Articles 5(1), 7(1), 11(1), 11(2),
13(1) and 17(2) of the Convention.
B.3.d
The right of women to a life free from violence (Article 7(a) of the
Convention of Belém do Pará)
250. In the inter-American sphere, the Inter-American Convention for the Prevention, Punishment
and Eradication of Violence against Women “Convention of Belém do Pará” establishes the right of
every woman to be free from violence, and that this right includes the right to be free of all forms of
discrimination.328 In addition, it indicates that States must “refrain from engaging in any act or
practice of violence against women and […] ensure that their authorities, officials, personnel, agents,
and institutions act in conformity with this obligation.”329 In this regard, the Court recalls that the
protection of human rights is based on affirming the existence of certain sacrosanct attributes of the
human being that cannot be legitimately impaired by the exercise of public powers. These are
individual spheres that the State may not violate.330 In order to ensure this protection, the Court has
considered that it is not sufficient for States to refrain from violating rights; rather, it is imperative
that they adopt positive measures, determined in function of the specific needs for protection of the
subjects of law, due either to their personal condition or to the specific situation in which they finds
themselves.331 The Court considers that this State obligation acquires special relevance when
violations of the sexual and reproductive rights of women are involved, as in the case of nonconsensual sterilizations performed in public hospitals.
251. The Convention of Belém do Pará has established parameters to identify when an act
constitutes violence and its Article 1 defines this as follows: ”violence against women shall be
understood as any act or conduct, based on gender, which causes death or physical, sexual or
psychological harm or suffering to women, whether in the public or the private sphere.”332 In addition,
the Court has indicated that gender-based violence “includes acts that inflict physical, mental or
sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion, and other deprivations of liberty.”333
Cf. Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico, supra, para. 394, and Case of Velásquez Paiz et al. v. Guatemala,
supra, para. 175, both citing the Convention of Belém do Pará, Preamble and Article 6.
328
329
Convention of Belém do Pará, Article 7(a).
Cf. The Word "Law" in Article 30 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Advisory Opinion OC-6/86, supra, para.
21, and Case of Castillo Petruzzi et al. v. Peru. Merits reparations and costs. Judgment of May 30, 1999. Series C No. 52,
para. 120.
330
Cf. Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia, supra, para. 111, and Case of Chinchilla Sandoval v. Guatemala,
supra, para. 168.
331
332
Convention of Belém do Pará, Article 1.
Case of the Miguel Castro Castro Prison v. Peru. Merits reparations and costs. Judgment of November 25, 2006. Series
C No. 160, para. 303, and Case of Espinoza Gonzáles v. Peru, supra, para. 223, both citing UN, Committee for the Elimination
333