The Evo Morales case: When sexual violence against women gets stuck in the political mud

Bolivian President Evo Morales has been accused of aggravated statutory rape with incitement to prostitution.

Morales is accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in 2016 .

Morales calls the accusations part of a political strategy to disqualify him from the presidential race in 2025 .

Morales has racked up at least five accusations of having sexually abused minors.

Evo Morales accused of impregnating 15-year-old girl, Cindy V. , and of fathered her child at 57 .

Morales has cast the allegations as a political attack, and called the accusations an attempt to “limit’t his right to be a presidential candidate.

The accusations have re-opened the debate surrounding the use of the concept of statutory rape.

The accusations that have been levied against Morales have wound up being batted about in a political boxing match in which women’s voices are seldom heard.

In part, this is due to the fact that few state funds are set aside for prosecuting such crimes.

Many victims of sexual crimes fail to report them because they are subject to the social control of their families.