Legislative Decree No. 9-2023, Law for the Protection of Women in Contexts of Humanitarian Crises and Natural Disasters

The purpose of this Law is to guarantee the protection of women in the context of humanitarian crises due to food insecurity, natural disasters, climate change, and emergencies. For such purposes, humanitarian crisis is understood as the cumulative impact of disasters, conflicts, or crises that require an immediate response to save lives and protect persons in conditions of greater vulnerability and risk, as well as situations of considerable misfortunes, extremely serious damages, or extraordinary fortuitous cases, caused by the alteration of natural phenomena that cause damage to territory, population, and assets, such as: flooding, droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, pandemics, and epidemics, among others, including those exceptional situations occurring due to natural causes or those derived from situations or conflicts of a political nature that include the restriction of rights and Constitutional Guarantees.

In situations of humanitarian crisis or emergency, shelters must comply with international standards that guarantee the protection and respect of human rights of all persons, especially those in situations of vulnerability, such as women, girls, and children. To this end, the separate location of women, girls, and children from adult men and youth in shelters must be ensured, and sanitary facilities must be adapted separately for men and women. Furthermore, children under eighteen (18) years of age must be located in the same space as their mothers to guarantee their protection and well-being. These standards are fundamental to ensure that all persons in emergency situations have access to adequate and safe conditions for their well-being. In addition to the provisions in the preceding paragraph, the competent authorities must guarantee the delivery of gender-differentiated emergency kits in the shelters. These kits shall include products specific to women, such as medications and products for menstrual management. It is the responsibility of the competent authorities to ensure that emergency kits are delivered in a timely and appropriate manner to all women, girls, and children who require them, without any discrimination.

An Ad-Hoc National Commission for the Prevention and Care of Gender-Based Violence shall be organized, for the duration of the humanitarian crisis or emergency, coordinated by the State Secretariat in the Office of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER), jointly with the Municipal Women's Office of the corresponding Municipality, which shall have representation from women's networks or community organizations and the Board of Directors of the National Risk Management System (SINAGER).

The National Commission for the Prevention and Care of Gender-Based Violence shall have the objective of preventing, caring for, and eradicating gender-based violence in the context of the humanitarian crisis or emergency. To this end, it shall coordinate actions with other State agencies, civil society organizations, and international agencies, as appropriate, to guarantee an effective and comprehensive response to gender-based violence in the context of the emergency or humanitarian crisis. The Ad-Hoc Commission shall establish work plans and specific actions, considering the particularities and needs of each context, as well as the affected population. Such Commission shall submit periodic reports on its actions and results, and its functioning shall be evaluated by the competent authorities determined by the Law or its Regulations. The creation of this Ad-Hoc Commission does not limit the responsibility of the authorities to prevent and address gender-based violence in a permanent and sustainable manner, within the framework of their competencies and legal obligations.

The State Secretariat in the Office of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER) shall coordinate with the Public Prosecutor's Office through the Special Prosecutor's Office for Women, Health Centers, Coordination of the Presidential Program Ciudad Mujer, and with women's networks or community organizations, in close relationship with the State Secretariat in the Offices of Risk Management and Contingencies (COPECO), the facilitation of training and talks on the prevention of violence against women, girls, and children, as well as talks on reproductive health, prevention of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and biosafety measures for disease prevention.

All Municipal Emergency Committees (CODEM) must include representation from Municipal Women's Offices and representation from women's organizations in the municipality. The Municipal Emergency Committees (CODEM) must be trained on Women's Human Rights, care and prevention of violence against women, girls, and children. Likewise, these committees must place a complaint box in the shelters so that women experiencing violence may file their complaints, ensuring that for proper processing of such complaints, there will be close coordination with security entities, the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the corresponding courts to guarantee their protection and access to justice.

In the case of domestic workers and other services provided at home, it is the obligation of the employer to supply materials, supplies, and safe transportation to prevent disease contagion and propagation. As a consequence, in a coordinated manner, the State Secretariat in the Office of Health (SESAL) and the State Secretariat in the Offices of Labor and Social Security in coordination must create, disseminate, supervise, and ensure compliance with the biosafety protocols to be followed for such purposes.

Employers may not, for any reason, retain or prevent the employee who works as a domestic worker or provides any type of service at home from visiting or remaining with her family in accordance with the days off established in labor matters and days of greater emergency. Nor may employers, under any circumstance, reduce or withhold the previously established salary of the domestic worker.

Reconstruction processes must be carried out from a gender perspective, that is, they must include care for violence against women, girls, and children. Priority assistance shall also be granted to women, girls, and children through social assistance programs designed to address humanitarian crises, natural disasters, and other emergencies.

Women's care centers that address violence at the national level, including the Module for Care and Protection of Women's Rights (MAPRODEM) of the Ciudad Mujer Program, the Specialized Comprehensive Care Modules (MAIE), and others that are created for such purposes, shall remain open and in operation during the period of national emergency to ensure medical, legal, and psychological assistance to victims. Sustained investment in shelters must be guaranteed, as they are a key mechanism for safeguarding the lives of women in need of protection.

In the different social programs of the Government, the following shall have priority to receive their benefits: single mothers, pregnant women, and elderly adult women, women with disabilities, domestic workers, and women from indigenous and Afro-descendant populations, as well as women who are victims or survivors of gender-based violence.

The State Secretariat in the Office of Health must immediately implement biosafety protocols with a gender approach for preferential care of women working in the health field, providing them prioritarily with the necessary equipment to perform their functions. It must strengthen the capacities to implement the Comprehensive Care Protocol for Persons Who Are Victims/Survivors of Sexual Violence, as well as the training of health personnel and volunteer staff in gender equality.

The State Secretariat in the Office of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER) shall promote mass information campaigns in all media outlets, in order to educate, inform, and communicate to the entire population on the issues of violence against women and girls, the route to follow regarding complaints and protection measures, in case of being victims of violence, for this purpose the necessary resources shall be allocated or reallocated for its implementation and it shall be coordinated with the competent governmental institutions. Furthermore, at the end of each of the National Broadcasts transmitted during national emergencies to provide information about them, information must be added about the types of violence against women received, the number of complaints, and the route to follow in case of being a victim. The National Communications Commission (CONATEL) must ensure the inclusion of this space and its publication in each broadcast, in coordination with the State Secretariat in the Office of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER), who is responsible for its design and content.

Women's rights defenders, duly accredited by the State Secretariat in the Office of Women's Affairs (SEMUJER), including those who work in Shelters, the Presidential Program Ciudad Mujer, and officials of Municipal Women's Offices, shall be excluded from the restrictions on the right to free movement of persons.

This Decree shall enter into force twenty (20) days after its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Done in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the eighth day of the month of March of two thousand twenty-three. LUIS ROLANDO REDONDO GUIFARRO PRESIDENT LUZ ANGÉLICA SMITH MEJÍA SECRETARY SILVIA BESSY AYALA FIGUEROA SECRETARY To the Executive Power Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., March 17, 2023. IRIS XIOMARA CASTRO SARMIENTO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF WOMEN'S AFFAIRS (SEMUJER) DORIS YOLANY GARCÍA PAREDES