Special Envoy Rossana Briceño on Violence Against Women

This morning, Rossana Briceño, the Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children, spoke on gender-based violence. Briceño said that while policies exist, “the implementation of the policies really needs to take centre stage now.” Briceño stressed the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of these policies, saying, “If they’re not working, we need to do better.” 

She concluded with a call to action, noting that “most of the time, it’s women that are the victims.”

The question was asked in light of the recent case involving a family accused of holding a 23-year-old woman hostage for 8 days. The 23-year-old was reportedly assaulted and sexually harassed by her father-in-law, deprived of food, and left in her own excrement with no access to a shower.