October 14, 2020

On October 14, 2020, Nina Sun, JD, deputy director of global health and human rights and assistant clinical professor in the department of Community Health and Prevention at the Dornsife School of Public Health, hosted a Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM) interview about protecting girls from sexual violence in schools.

In August 2020, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights decided the case of Paola Guzmán Albarracín v. Ecuador, which establishes standards to protect girls from sexual violence and harassment in schools. The ruling also holds Ecuador responsible for failing to protect an adolescent student from the sexual violence she suffered in school. The Court’s judgment, which has wide impact throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, discusses violence as a health concern, recognizing the importance of comprehensive sexuality education, as well as violence prevention and redress mechanisms. The case was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights and its partner, the Ecuadorian Center for the Promotion and Action of Women (CEPAM-Guayaquil).

To learn more about the case and its implications for sexual and reproductive rights for adolescent girls, SRHM spoke with the Center’s Latin America and Caribbean team.