The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today considered the eighth periodic report of Chile, with Committee Experts praising the State’s laws on violence against women and femicide, and raising questions about measures to prevent trafficking of children and sexual abuse of girls.
One Committee Expert said Chile had impressive laws on violence against women and femicide. What was the reparation regime for femicide?
A Committee Expert said trafficking remained a problem in Chile. There were around 20,000 illegal adoptions; the stealing of children was reportedly a lucrative business for criminal groups. What measures were in place to support women and children who were at risk of trafficking?
Another Expert said the Committee was concerned by the high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse of teenage girls. What was being done to prevent early pregnancies, sexual abuse of girls, and delays in processing of abortion requests?
Introducing the report, Antonia Orellana Guarello, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile and head of the delegation, said an emblematic advance in the fight against violence in Chile was the enactment this June of the comprehensive law against gender violence. In the last two years, law reform had established a comprehensive protection and reparation regime for victims of femicide. ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ violence against women programmes had been redesigned to offer care to a wider range of victims.
Ms. Orellana Guarello said the Government had developed the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons 2023-2026, focusing on prevention, protection of victims, prosecution of crimes, intersectoral coordination, and international cooperation. This plan had made it possible to double the State’s capacity to care for adult victims.
The delegation added that the State had a new procedure for assessing international adoptions and was supporting investigations into kidnapping of children. One individual who had been kidnapped had been identified and reunited with their family. The State party was working to establish a genetic database to help reunite families and victims.
Chile had seen a downward trend in teenage pregnancies since 2016, the delegation noted, influenced by the free distribution of contraception. The State party was developing legislation that decriminalised abortion. Around 70 per cent of girls under 14 who requested abortions did so on the grounds of rape. An early referrals programme had been developed to speed up their access to abortions.
In closing remarks, Ms. Orellana Guarello said Chile was committed to implementing the rights of women in all their diversity. The State party would work to collect disaggregated data on women, achieve gender parity at all levels, increase access to abortion, promote the rights of older women and reform the pension system, and improve the situation of women deprived of liberty.
Ana Peláez Narváez, Committee Chair, in concluding remarks, said that the dialogue had helped the Committee to better understand the situation of women and girls in the State party. It would develop recommendations based on the dialogue to strengthen the implementation of the Convention for the benefit of all women and girls in Chile.
The delegation of Chile consisted of representatives from the Supreme Court; Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Migration Service; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Women and Gender Equity; Ministry of the Interior and Public Security; Public Prosecutor’s Office; Gendarmerie; Public Criminal Defender’s Office; Cabinet of the Minister of Social Development and Family; and the Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will issue the concluding observations on the report of Chile at the end of its eighty-ninth session on 25 October. All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s . Meeting summary releases can be found . The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the .
The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 October toconsider the tenth periodic report of Canada ().
Report
The Committee has before it the eighth periodic report of Chile ().
Presentation of Report
ANTONIA ORELLANA GUARELLO, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile and head of the delegation, said that since the last dialogue, Chile had experienced social protests, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emergence of “anti-rights” groups. Despite these challenges, the State had made progress in institutional, legal and administrative mechanisms to ensure the rights of women. The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Equality Plan, updated in 2023, was the roadmap for equality policies in Chile. Minority groups had participated in the construction and monitoring of the plan. In 2023 and 2024, six billion pesos were allocated to projects that directly benefited the diversity of women in different State institutions.
An emblematic advance in the fight against violence was the enactment this June of the comprehensive law against gender violence, which established measures to punish and eradicate gender-based violence. It created a judicial supervision mechanism, recognised children and adolescents as victims, and established an integrated data system on cases of gender violence. In the last two years, law reform had improved procedural guarantees and protected the rights of victims of sexual crimes; advanced the prevention, investigation and punishment of workplace sexual harassment; and established a comprehensive protection and reparation regime for victims of femicide, including a pension for sons and daughters, which until August 2024 has benefited 126 children and adolescents. ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ violence against women programmes had been redesigned to offer care to a wider range of victims. The budget allocated to the prevention of violence against women had been increased by 22 per cent between 2021 and 2024.
In 2022, a law prohibiting child marriage was enacted. Thanks to this law, in the last two years there were no marriages with spouses under 18 years of age. The Government had also developed the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons 2023-2026, focusing on prevention, protection of victims, prosecution of crimes, intersectoral coordination, and international cooperation. This plan had made it possible to double the State’s capacity to care for adult victims. As of May 2024, humanitarian visas were issued to 21 women victims. Progress had also been made with respect to the payment of child support through the creation of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Registry of Alimony Debtors and the effective payment law. This had allowed the payment of more than 333 million United States dollars for alimony, benefiting more than 50,000 families as of May 2024.
Chile was processing the bill that modified the Labour Code to promote equal pay between men and women, seeking to address the persistent gender wage gap, which stood at 23.3 per cent. The Buenos Aires Commitment recognised the right to care and be cared for. The Government had introduced a bill to establish a national policy on care to guarantee access to care in conditions of dignity. Resources for care systems would be increased by 40 per cent by 2025, with the goal of serving 75,000 people with severe dependency.
The More Women Scientists Programme had provided posts to women in science, technology, engineering and maths programmes at the university level. The number of women selected for such programmes had since increased by 16.8 per cent. The Government had implemented an inspection manual for the voluntary interruption of pregnancy law, which gave tools to local authorities for the supervision of health facilities. It had also reduced the prices of oral, vaginal and long-acting contraception.
The percentage of women participating in politics had increased in recent decades. Chile was ranked sixth worldwide in high-level representation of women, with 58.3 per cent of members of the Cabinet of Ministers being women. The Government was also promoting projects such as gender quotas in the elections of regional governors and councillors. In the last two years, spaces had been created for women to participate in the evaluation and transformation of public policy, such as the Citizen Dialogues for the Care System, which had 12,614 participants, of which 80.4 per cent were women. Dialogues were also held for rural women and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, on sexual and reproductive rights and pension reform.
In the last two years, 119 indigenous language and culture educators were recruited. The Good Living Plan promoted the participation of Mapuche and rural women in political and social decisions through territorial dialogues. The Government had also doubled the quota for hiring people with disabilities in companies and public institutions with 100 or more workers. The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Policy on Migration and Foreigners provided comprehensive care for foreign women victims of domestic and gender-based violence. Since 2023, the gender identity accompaniment programme had been implemented, serving more than 2,500 transgender and gender non-conforming children and adolescents. This year, the Protocol for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders was approved, reaffirming the commitment of the State to protect women human rights defenders. The Protocol on the Treatment of Pregnant Women in Detention sought to guarantee respect for and exercise of these women’s rights. From 2022 to May of this year, a total of 321 pregnant women had benefited from this law.
The Committee’s recommendations would allow the State to make progress in complying with its international commitments and to guarantee respect for human rights.
LORETO CARVAJAL, Senator of the Republic, said she was a member of a group of parliamentarians that promoted the creation of the Commission on Women and Gender Equity, a space to debate policies against discrimination and violence against women. The law on labour conciliation enshrined the right to remote work for all workers who had children under 14 years of age in their care. Another law prohibited sexual and workplace violence and harassment at work. The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Congress had also established its first breastfeeding room, and the Senate had installed 24 kits with menstrual hygiene products in its bathrooms. The Work-Life Balance Protocol supported women with family and care responsibilities.
Chile also faced several challenges. The revision of the civil partnership regime was still pending, as was a bill to strengthen the anti-discrimination law. It was essential that resources were appropriately allocated to initiatives that addressed gender-based violence and promoted women’s economic empowerment. There also needed to be increased cooperation between the legislative branch, the executive and civil society. The delegation would faithfully reflect on both the State’s progress and the challenges remaining regarding the implementation of the Convention.
ANDREA MUÑOZ SÁNCHEZ, Minister of the Supreme Court of Chile, said Chile’s understanding of the need to increase women’s access to justice had improved over the reporting period, and legal instruments and rulings reflected this. The Supreme Court of Justice had a technical secretariat on gender equality and a gender equality policy. There had been rulings regarding cases of violence against women that dealt with abandonment and recognition of non-typical cases of violence, including the use of legitimate use of self-defence by women. There had also been rulings on the rights of women deprived of liberty and rulings recognising non-binary gender, and alternatives to detention had been issued for pregnant women. The judiciary had also implemented many measures to eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace.
Statement by the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Human Rights Institute
CONSUELO CONTRERAS LARGO, ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Director, ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Human Rights Institute of Chile, said Chile’s statistics on violence against women were not disaggregated based on ethnicity, location, age, disability, sexual orientation and migrant status; this needed to be done. It was worrying that amendments to the conjugal partnership law and the anti-discrimination law had not progressed. The gap in representation between men and women continued to be wide, especially in mayoral offices and in the Senate, where women made up only 17 per cent and 24 per cent of representatives, respectively. There was no gender quota in municipal elections, and for parliamentary elections, the quota would be in force only until 2029.
Difficulties in reporting violence and accessing care for minority women were concerning. There was a low number of personnel responsible for investigating trafficking in persons in the investigative police. It was also worrying that only 15 universities offered training in gender violence, women’s rights, and gender perspective, and there was no discussion in Congress about comprehensive sex education in the school curriculum.
Gaps in wages and employability of men and women remained, while unemployment rates continued to be higher in women than in men. The Institute was also concerned about barriers that hindered the provision of access to voluntary termination of pregnancy, including training and conscientious objection, and about the situation of pregnant women and women with children in prisons and the lack of progress on the bill prohibiting pretrial detention for such women. The Institute was concerned about the lack of cultural relevance of policies for the prevention of violence against indigenous women.
Questions by a Committee Expert
MARION BETHEL, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Chile, said that the Committee welcomed the efforts by the State party to disseminate the Convention and the ratification of the Optional Protocol in 2020. Capacity-building efforts had reached over 46,000 public servants. Had the State party established a permanent accountability mechanism regarding the Convention? Was the Convention promoted in rural areas and had it been translated into indigenous languages?
The recent reform of the Constitution was a unique opportunity to advance gender equality and incorporate comprehensive protections for women’s rights. However, this process had faced challenges. What steps had been taken to anchor women’s rights in the Constitution? The Committee was concerned about discrimination targeting indigenous women and women of African descent. What steps had been taken to amend the law on discrimination in line with the Convention? How many cases had been tried under the law and what reparation had been provided to minority women? What steps had been taken to address the law’s inadequacies?
The availability of legal assistance for minority women remained insufficient. How was the State party addressing this? What training was being provided on gender equality and support for women for members of the judiciary? Did training provided for the police and prison service improve access to justice for indigenous women, and how was gender mainstreaming being incorporated in the judiciary?
Ms. Bethel welcomed that the Convention had been invoked in court rulings. The State party needed to collect disaggregated data to inform public policy on gender. What had been the impact of the work of the Intersectoral Working Group on the Rights of Indigenous Women?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Chile was committed to addressing gaps in monitoring the implementation of the Convention. The State party was making use of the “SEMORE” system, which collected data on the implementation of human rights treaties. A mechanism had opened that allowed civil society to monitor the implementation of the Convention and a gender budgeting system would soon be implemented.
More than 33,000 public servants had received training on gender equality. The State was collaborating with the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to strengthen training on the Convention for public officials. Between 2022 and 2024, around 7,500 members of the judiciary took courses on gender issues and more than 900 members of the investigative police had also received such training. From this year, all criminal and family judges were required to undergo mandatory training on violence against women, and prosecutors also underwent training on the Convention.
The judiciary provided defence for all individuals. There were specialised defenders for indigenous women and intercultural communicators who supported these women. A bill to reform the Anti-Discrimination Act addressed shortcomings in the legislation and the need to compensate victims; this bill had been rejected, but work was underway to reform it so that it could be passed.
The Government was working to establish institutions, roadmaps and training programmes to promote the rights of indigenous women. The judiciary had a handbook of good practices related to gender, and a repository of judgements related to gender had been published. More than 11,000 judgements had referenced the Convention, including 8,000 judgements by family courts.
The Sub-Commission on Gender Statistics had established a standard on statistics on gender identity. Upcoming surveys on gender-based violence would cover rural areas. The new national census would include questions on gender identity, ethnicity and other characteristics.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert congratulated the State party on the creation of the Ministry for Women and Gender Equity. What percentage of the national budget had been devoted to gender institutions in the last three years? How did the State party ensure compliance by public officials with the Convention? What was the mandate of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Service for Women and Gender Equity? How was the Women’s Ministry empowered to influence other ministries, institutions and the media?
The fourth national action plan on equality between men and women was commendable. What budget had been attached to the plan and what achievements had it made? Were issues concerning disadvantaged women integrated into national priorities? What measures were in place to monitor the implementation of the plan?
MARION BETHEL, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Chile, commended the State party for its use of temporary special measures in promoting the representation of women in political bodies. There was an absence of temporary special measures to promote the rights of disadvantaged women in other areas, however. What groups of women had been targeted by temporary special measures and what steps had been taken to guarantee women’s rights in the economic recovery plan? How were temporary special measures being used to address gender stereotypes and promote women’s access to employment?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Service for Women and Gender Equity promoted gender equality and women’s empowerment in various areas. The budget for the Service had been increased in recent years, and its programme to combat violence had been strengthened. Its activities reached more than 150,000 women, preventing violence and promoting women’s political participation.
Almost 46,000 members of the police service had received training on human rights and gender, including over 500 directors of the police force. The share of women applying for posts within the police had increased to 40 per cent.
The Women’s Ministry had participated in drafting the post-pandemic economic recovery plan in 2022, incorporating gender perspectives into the plan. The rate of female integration in the workforce had increased by two per cent since the implementation of the plan. Subsidies were provided to employed women to access childcare, and structures providing care for the elderly had been strengthened to alleviate women’s care burden. The childcare system had been reformed to increase access for marginalised women.
The labour inclusion law had helped to double the number of women with disabilities who had access to the labour market. There was currently a record number of women in construction in Chile.
Questions by Committee Experts
MARION BETHEL, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Chile, said there was a lack of temporary special measures for indigenous women, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women, and other disadvantaged women. Was the State party working to create these?
ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chair, asked how the State party ensured access to justice for vulnerable women. Could indigenous women use their own languages in court? What measures were in place to protect girls in the justice system? How did the State ensure access to its national surveys for indigenous women, girls and women with disabilities?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the Government was drafting a law on access to justice for gender-based crimes. The judiciary had training programmes on gender and sexual diversity and there had been an inclusion protocol developed for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community.
The Government was working to ensure access to social programmes for marginalised groups of the population. Community care centres had been set up in rural areas to support the care burden for indigenous peoples. Information on sexual and reproductive rights was being provided to indigenous women in different indigenous languages and in Braille. The national census was made available in the main three indigenous languages. A law had been passed to recognise Chilean people of African descent, and the Ministry of Women had a body working to promote the rights of women of African descent.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert welcomed that Chile’s domestic legislation needed to be interpreted in line with the international human rights treaties ratified by Chile, and commended the State party’s efforts to address historical wrongs against women. How was the State party advancing space exploration led by women and addressing the threats posed to women by autonomous weapons systems? How would the State party incorporate women peacebuilders within its national action plan on women, peace and security?
Technology-assisted violence disproportionately affected women. How was the State party addressing algorithmic biases against women in artificial intelligence models? The State had impressive laws on violence against women and femicide. What was the reparation regime for femicide? How did the State party monitor the implementation of the law on workplace harassment and prevent reprisals against women who reported it? The State party needed to immediately promulgate the law on consent for sexual relations. Was the monitoring mechanism for discrimination against HIV-positive people still in place? Did the media law prohibit gender stereotyping?
Trafficking remained a problem in Chile. There were around 20,000 illegal adoptions; the stealing of children was reportedly a lucrative business for criminal groups. Children in child protection centres were at risk of trafficking. What reparations had been provided for victims of illegal adoptions? What measures were in place to support women and children who were at risk of trafficking?
ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chair, congratulated the State party on implementing the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding reparation for the forced sterilisation of a woman. Was forced sterilisation of women with disabilities common? When would the State party criminalise this practice? How was the State party ensuring protection for girls who were wards of the State from institutional violence?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said women were included in Chile’s armed forces. The Commission of Peace and Understanding between the State and the Mapuche people, which included Mapuche women, was striving to achieve peace and an end to conflict with the Mapuche. Chile had had a feminist foreign policy since 2022, and a gender lens was incorporated into foreign aid activities. Chile was focusing on including women in international peace negotiations, such as negotiations with Colombia. The State party had included a gender dimension in the regulation of autonomous weapons and in disarmament efforts.
There were differing opinions on the effectiveness of establishing a law on consent for sexual relations; negotiation on this act was ongoing. Laws had been implemented that increased penalties for obstetric violence and the non-consensual dissemination of pornographic material. The new comprehensive law on violence against women addressed obstetric violence. Courts were providing compensation for moral harm caused by obstetric violence and failed sterilisation procedures requested by women.
Chile was promoting the inclusion of women in science, technology, engineering and maths careers and there had been an increase in women taking up these careers. The State party had passed a law that promoted the inclusion of women in the mining sector.
The State had a new procedure for assessing international adoptions and was supporting investigations into the kidnapping of children. One individual who had been kidnapped had been identified and reunited with their family. The State party was working to establish a genetic database to help reunite families and victims.
Chile had not received complaints related to the forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities. It had recently adopted a law that required free, prior and informed consent for sterilisation procedures. The State party had created a special body monitoring girls, boys and adolescents who were wards of the State. Protection measures were implemented as a last resort.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert commended the State party’s commitment to female diplomacy and representation in all decision-making arena. Would the State party implement quotas for 50 per cent representation of women at all levels of government? The Expert welcomed the definition of “political violence” against women in the State’s legislation. Was there a system for implementing this legislation? What measures were in place to promote gender parity in the private sector? Was there a system to assess the environmental and gender impacts of foreign policies?
Another Committee Expert welcomed efforts to address statelessness, including the implementation of the Statelessness Convention and the granting of Chilean nationality to all people born on Chilean territory. Many children were born on migratory routes in Chile, increasing their risk of statelessness. How was the State party working to register the births of migrant children? Could it provide statistics in this regard? How was the State party promoting access to refugee status determination procedures?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Chile’s feminist foreign policy included measures promoting the representation of women in the foreign service. Around 24 per cent of Chile’s ambassadors were female, up from around 12 per cent in 2022. The State was approaching gender parity in its diplomatic corps. All Chile’s trade agreements had specific chapters on women. Chile had won a prize from the World Trade Organization for promoting gender equality through trade.
There had been a rise in female participation in the Congress. Quotas had been established for electoral lists. Women were currently heading 13 different ministries, including ministries typically led by men. Quotas were also being implemented in the regional elections that were currently underway. A tool had been developed to support women wishing to run for election. The Government had recognised political violence as a form of discrimination. The Electoral Service was developing clear standards on this form of violence.
Currently, all children born on migratory routes had access to Chilean nationality. The State project on statelessness had allowed for the provision of nationality to around 100 children. The law on immigration respected the best interests of the child. A draft law had been developed to provide nationality to children who did not have identity documents. The State party worked to prevent refoulement of migrants.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert commended the educational reforms implemented by the State party. What strategy did the State party have to prevent the dissemination of gender stereotypes in education? What redress systems were in place for victims of discrimination within education? What monitoring was in place to ensure that the language policy empowered and did not stigmatise indigenous children? What temporary special measures were in place to promote access to education for minority girls?
Had the State party developed disability-friendly learning environments and promoted inclusive education? What was the rate of return for girls who left the education system early? How did the State party’s science, technology, engineering and maths education programme address structural barriers to women accessing careers in this field? The reproductive health education programme started in the second education cycle and was not compulsory. Would the State party make the programme compulsory, continuing and age appropriate?
Another Committee Expert commended the State party’s gender parity initiative, the law to reduce the maximum weekly working hours, and the law to implement International Labour Organization Convention 190. The gender pay gap persisted in the State party. What measures would the State party take to address the gap, particularly in higher paying positions? The labour participation rate for women was 48.1 per cent in 2021. What measures were in place to increase the rate and eliminate horizontal and vertical discrimination against women in the workplace? How was the State party promoting women’s participation in the digital economy, and the employment of marginalised women? How were self-employed women and domestic workers supported to access State benefits? What efforts had been made to promote the equal sharing of household responsibilities between men and women? Could data on this be provided?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Chile had developed a draft bill on schooling that addressed discrimination within the educational community. The bill was currently being assessed by Congress. ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ days on non-sexist education had been held; over 450,000 children and parents had participated. The admission system for higher education had been amended to support women’s access. Textbooks had been updated to remove gender stereotypes. The Government was also working to discourage violence in educational settings. There were seven possible programmes for sex education, and schools could choose which programme they provided. The State party planned to develop a bill that would improve the quality of sex education. Educational institutions were being provided with guidance to implement inclusive education for children with disabilities.
Between 2022 and 2024, women’s wages had increased by six per cent, and employment rates for women had returned to pre-pandemic levels. The gender wage gap had decreased from 25 per cent in 2022 to 23 per cent in 2023. Most trade unions had greater participation of women than men. Regulations had been implemented that allowed for shorter working hours for workers with children. The number of days that parents could have off when their children were sick had been increased from 15 to 30. Chile’s legislation established the joint responsibility of parents in caring for their children. A programme had been developed to provide care for children in rural areas during holiday periods to allow their mothers to continue working. This programme was now being expanded.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said learners with auditory disabilities had complained that digital education portals were not accessible for them. Had the State addressed this issue? Each of the seven possible sexual health education programmes needed to be compliant with the Convention. How many educational institutions had been fined for discrimination against girls?
Another Committee Expert commended the State party’s initiative to decriminalise abortion on all grounds. The Committee was concerned by the high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse of teenage girls. What was being done to prevent early pregnancies, sexual abuse of girls, and delays in processing of abortion requests? Around 42 per cent of obstetric practitioners were conscientious objectors to abortion. In rural areas, there were no alternatives if local doctors were conscientious objectors. How was the State party addressing this? Many women had experienced obstetric violence. What support was the State party providing to ensure access to reparation for such violence?
One Committee Expert commended the State’s pension and labour law reform. Women’s unpaid working hours exceeded those of men by a large margin. Almost half of households were headed by women, many of which were impoverished. There was a pay gap regarding pension payments for retirees. How was the State party preventing the widening of the gender wage gap and working to reduce the representation of women in the informal sector? How would the State party correct the gender inequalities in the pension system and compensate women for unpaid care work? Over 40 per cent of companies did not have women on their boards; how was this being addressed?
What measures were in place to promote women and girls’ access to cultural and sporting activities, and to address discrimination against women in sports?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Chile had seen a downward trend in teenage pregnancies since 2016, influenced by the free distribution of contraception. To prevent the underground use of misoprostol, the State party was developing legislation that decriminalised abortion. Under 10 per cent of health providers had conscientious objectors to abortions. The State party supported the referral of persons seeking abortions to alternative abortion providers in cases of conscientious objection. Conscientious objectors were required to provide abortions if there was a risk to the life of the mother. Chile had amended legislation to require healthcare institutions to provide patients with information on their abortion rights in various languages. Around 70 per cent of girls under 14 who requested abortions did so on the grounds of rape. An early referrals programme had been developed to speed up their access to abortions. Most family court cases concerning abortions for minors who had been raped were decided within two days.
Coverage of the pension system had reached 80 per cent, increasing greatly in recent years. The State party was implementing reforms to close the gender pension gap. It had drafted a law towards this aim that was currently in its second reading. A national survey was being carried out that assessed the distribution of domestic work responsibilities. It would inform future support policies.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert asked if the State party had considered mechanisms to prevent backstreet abortions. What support did the State provide to girls who underwent abortions?
Another Committee Expert asked if girls aged 16 and over could access abortions in cases of rape.
One Committee Expert asked about measures to support women entrepreneurs’ access to loans and credit.
A Committee Expert asked about steps that had been taken to develop an action plan on rural women and girls that addressed their access to services and land. Chile was the only country in Latin America that did not recognise indigenous peoples in its Constitution. Would the State party establish a ministry of indigenous affairs, as the Committee had previously recommended? What measures were in place to guarantee the right to tenure and ownership of land for indigenous women? Women of African descent were not visible in the State party due to a lack of data. Not all women of African descent were recognised by the State party in its legislation; how would this be addressed?
Another Committee Expert commended reforms that raised the minimum age of marriage to 18 without exception. De facto early unions were still being carried out in Chile. What measures were in place to identify such unions and to support their dissolution, particularly in rural areas? How was the State party promoting access to adoption for same-sex couples? What was the status of efforts to amend the marital regime and to educate the population in this regard? How effectively were temporary protective measures implemented to protect women and children in cases of family violence?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Chile planned to collect more data on people of African descent through its 2025 census. The Ministry of Women and Equity had implemented measures to support access to land tenure for indigenous peoples. There had yet to be progress on the draft law establishing a ministry of indigenous affairs; the Government would devote further efforts toward this aim.
A national roundtable had been set up to support rural and indigenous women. The roundtable had developed a programme to support access to water for these women. There was also a programme supporting the development of rural and indigenous women as leaders.
Amendments to the adoption law had been discussed for over 10 years. The Government was working to establish a law that allowed for the adoption of children by same-sex couples. Custody of children was not granted to violent parents. Recent legislative reform defined children who experienced domestic violence as victims. The State party was working to reform the marital property regime to increase women’s access to property in cases of divorce.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said extractive industry activities had affected access to water in rural areas. Would the State party strengthen environmental regulations to ensure that agribusiness activities did not negatively affect rural and indigenous women? What steps had been taken to hold persons responsible for human rights violations occurring in the context of the 2019 protests?
Another Committee Expert noted that a case had been brought before the Supreme Court in 2021 by two women regarding the shutting down of a power plant in Huasco. What measures were in place to protect women in Huasco from pollution from power plants?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said a plan was being developed to gradually close power plants in Huasco and to provide reparations to persons who had been affected by pollution from these plants. A draft bill had been put forward to address the loss of rural ecosystems caused by the activities of extractive industries. A climate change adaption plan was also in place.
Around 50 complaints had been brought against civil servants related to their actions in response to the 2019 protests, some of which had led to prosecutions. Five of these cases involved female victims.
Concluding Remarks
ANTONIA ORELLANA GUARELLO, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile and head of the delegation, said the dialogue had been constructive. The Committee’s inputs had been and would continue to be vital for the State party. Chile was committed to implementing the rights of women in all their diversity. The State party had made progress but acknowledged that gaps remained. The Committee’s recommendations would help the State party to move forward. Chile would work to collect disaggregated data on women, achieve gender parity at all levels, increase access to abortion, promote the rights of older women and reform the pension system, and improve the situation of women deprived of liberty.
ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chair, said that the dialogue had helped the Committee to better understand the situation of women and girls in Chile. It would develop recommendations based on the dialogue to strengthen the implementation of the Convention for the benefit of all women and girls in Chile.
