26 115. Expert Claudia Paz mentioned a number of these irregularities in the hearing that the 141 Commission held on this case. In her expert report she also indicated that the case file does not suggest that that investigation had any theory it was pursuing; instead, she said, the investigation could best be characterized as erratic and reactive. She also made reference to the unwarranted delays in the investigation, such as the conflict of jurisdiction, the delays in taking a number of investigative measures, 142 such as tracking down and listing the calls made to and from the alleged victim’s cell phone. 116. In the visit that the Rapporteur on the Rights of Women made to Guatemala in 2004, officers of the court told her that in many instances, cases do not get beyond the investigation phase because of a lack of evidence; in those cases that do go to trial, the lack of physical or scientific evidence to corroborate the testimony jeopardizes the proceedings’ reliability. The Rapporteur was also told that the vast majority of the cases reported do not get beyond the investigative phase. By way of example, the IACHR observed that of the murder cases processed by the Office of the Public Prosecutor for Women, by September 2004 only one had gone to trial. 117. The IACHR observed the same pattern in its 2003 report, where it wrote that the information it had received indicated that in violent crimes, including rape, several essentials were missing: technical expertise, determination in compiling evidence, and follow-through to prosecution and punishment on the part of the authorities, prosecutors’ failings and mistakes, which make the work of judges that much more difficult, cause delays in the administration of justice, and can even result in 143 crimes going unpunished. 118. In addition, during her visit to Guatemala, the Rapporteur heard evidence showing how 144 discriminatory stereotypes operate in practice during the investigation of cases, which is an important feature of the context of violence and impunity described in the proven facts section. According to the Rapporteur, these attitudes range from a lack of sensitivity to the situation of the person concerned, to 145 openly hostile and discriminatory attitudes that devalue the person and which, in the opinion of the Commission, may affect the investigation of cases. The IACHR has established that delays occur in investigations in which female victims of violence are reported missing and the authorities commit two categories of violations: 1) They do not move quickly to search for the victims; and 2) they discredit and blame the victims for their actions and, thus, point to them as not deserving of state action to find and 146 protect them —for example, in the case at hand. This type of state action is especially serious in the 147 case of minors. This matter will be discussed in greater detail in the next section regarding Article 7 of [the Convention of] Belém do Pará and Article 24 of the American Convention. …continuation December 2001 as emblematic of hundreds of others reported in Guatemala in recent years and mirroring a pattern of (i) omissions, irregularities and delays on the part of state authorities in the investigation, both in the early stages and in the criminal proceedings; (ii) the treatment that the next of kin of the murdered women receive, and (iii) the suffering caused to the next of kin by the criminal proceedings in which the victim tends to be blamed for her own death. 141 Hearing Minutes No 5. Case 12.578 – María Isabel Véliz Franco, held on March 20, 2009. 142 Hearing Minutes No 5. Case 12.578 – María Isabel Véliz Franco, held on March 20, 2009. 143 IACHR, Justice and Social Inclusion: the Challenges of Democracy in Guatemala, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.118, December 29. 2003, paragraph 302. In 2003, the IACHR reported that of the 8,989 complaints that the Office of the Public Prosecutor for Women had received by late 2001, only three resulted in convictions. 144 IACHR, Press Release No. 20/04, IACHR Special Rapporteur evaluates the effectiveness of the right of women in Guatemala to live free from violence and discrimination. 145 IACHR, Press Release No. 20/04, IACHR Special Rapporteur evaluates the effectiveness of the right of women in Guatemala to live free from violence and discrimination. 146 IACHR, Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence in the Americas, OEA/Ser. L/V/II. doc.68, January 20, 2007, para. 135. 147 IACHR, Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence in the Americas, OEA/Ser. L/V/II. doc.68, January 20, 2007, para. 135. Continúa…