against journalists" and that the vast majority of cases remain unpunished. 46 This has had and continues to have a far-reaching impact on journalism, as supported also by what Ms. Bedoya indicated during the public hearing before this Court when she stated the following: As for journalism, which continues in the regions, it is unfortunately self-censoring, silencing itself because reporting means losing your life, reporting means displacement, reporting means that journalists have to leave everything and become refugees somewhere else or in another city due to threats from these groups. 47 44. The situation described above continues today. According to the National Center for Historical Memory, the period from 2006 to 2015 was characterized by both decreases and increases in violence against journalists: Decreases, because the number of journalists killed is clearly down compared to the previous period; but increases due to the fact that “self-censorship and other aggressive phenomena that had an impact on journalism and on local and national society increased.” 48 Likewise, in recent years the increase in threats against journalists has been confirmed by numerous sources, such as the United Nations General Assembly, the Inter-American Commission, and multiple civil society organizations. 49 In this regard, witness Catalina Botero indicated that although the homicides associated with the exercise of journalism decreased during the peace process, "the figures on incidents of violence against journalists remain alarming," having increased in the last four years, contributing to the persistence of a “concerning” context of violence directed against journalists in Colombia. 50 a.2 Regarding the context of sexual violence against women during the armed conflict and, in particular, against women journalists 45. The violence perpetrated during the armed conflict had a differentiated and aggravated affect on women by exacerbating and intensifying existing discrimination, exclusion, and gender-based violence in the country. This also had a special impact on indigenous, Afro-Colombian and “marginalized” women. 51 As the Constitutional Court of Colombia has recognized, women were—and are—exposed to “special risk and specific vulnerabilities within the armed conflict” due to their gender, including: (i) the risk of sexual violence, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse in the context of the armed conflict; (ii) the risk of exploitation or enslavement to perform domestic work and roles considered feminine in a society with patriarchal traits by illegal armed actors; (iii) the risk of forced recruitment of their sons and daughters by illegal armed actors, or of other types of threats 46 Cf. Case of Carvajal Carvajal et al. v. Colombia, supra, para. 34. Cf. Statement from Jineth Bedoya Lima given at the public hearing held on March 15, 22, and 23, 2021 within the framework of the 140th regular sessions. 47 Cf. National Center for Historical Memory, report, “La Palabra y el Silencio: La violencia contra periodistas en Colombia (1977-2015),” November 2015 (evidence file, folio 11232). See also, Statement made before a notary public by Ignacio Gómez Gómez, of March 8, 2021 (evidence file, folio 39962). 48 Cf. United Nations General Assembly, Situation of human rights in Colombia, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, A/HRC/40/3/Add.3, of February 4, 2019, para. 25; IACHR, Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, 2018 Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, OEA/SER.L/V/II Doc. 30, of March 17, 2019, para. 303, and Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, “Alerta por incremento en el número amenazas de muerte a periodistas en Colombia,” of July 11, 2018, available at: https://flip.org.co/index.php/es/informacion/pronunciamientos/item/2252-alerta-por-incremento-en-el-numero-amenazasde-muerte-a-periodistas-en-colombia See also, Reporters Without Borders, “Colombia – Ataque frontal a la libertad de prensa en protestas sociales” of May 4, 2021, available here: https://rsf.org/es/noticias/colombia-ataque-frontal-la-libertad-deprensa-en-protestas-sociales 49 50 Cf. Statement made before a notary public by Catalina Botero Marino, of March 4, 2021 (evidence file, folio 39931). 51 Cf. Constitutional Court of Colombia, Order 092 of 2008, of April 14, 2008 (evidence file, folio 430). 16