The National Institute for Women runs two investment projects: a programme to disseminate information on equal opportunities for women and the National Plan against Domestic Violence. The 40 members of the administrative and technical team run the two projects and administer two shelters for women victims of domestic violence.

The government policies implemented by the National Institute for Women are in keeping with the proposals established in the 2007 National Development Pact, and more specifically with the mandate to achieve “more fairness, less poverty”.

Programmes and action plans

8. The report refers to the National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence and Promote Civil Harmony, which has been in place since 2004. Please provide additional information on the National Plan, including detailed information on financial and human resources that are allocated to the Plan and on whether indicators, as well as time-bound targets, have been established to assess the implementation of this Plan in all regions of the country.

The National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence and Promote Civil Harmony is implemented under a budget item allocated by the Government to social investment projects with a view to promoting efforts to combat domestic violence. Its aims are to help the victims of gender-based violence; to understand the problem in order to be able to take quick and effective action, and to involve the community by raising awareness of the issue and, at the same time, developing women’s capacity to take charge of their own advancement and empowerment.

In addition, funds are provided by the United Nations Population Fund, the Spanish International Cooperation Agency for Development and the Inter-American Development Bank. Financial resources are allocated to activities and programme components aimed at implementing the guiding principles of the National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence and Promote Civil Harmony.

Eight administrative or technical staff (lawyers, social workers, psychologists, a secretary and an instructor) have been assigned to the National Institute for Women to coordinate and implement the National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence and Promote Civil Harmony.

The following indicators have been established to evaluate implementation of the plan:

Training and awareness-raising

•Number of women, men, young people, adolescents, children, organized community groups, community organizations and private companies

Networks combating domestic violence

•Number of women and men trained to interpret and monitor Act No. 38 on domestic violence

Implementation and monitoring of Act No. 38 of 10 July 2001 on domestic violence and child abuse

•Number of justices of the peace, councillors and court secretaries trained

•Number of national networks created to combat domestic violence

•Number of beneficiaries of the activities of the networks combating domestic violence

•Number of members of the networks combating domestic violence

•Number of institutions or organizations that are members of the national networks combating domestic violence

Programmes for victims of gender violence

•Number of complaints, according to the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Public Prosecutor’s Office

•Number of femicides (women murdered by their current or former partners, or by relatives, people they know, or people they do not know)

•Campaigns against gender violence in Panama (including number of analyses of gender violence and number of educational videos and manuals on domestic violence)

Comprehensive Security Programme

Promotion and prevention

•Organization of leaders, who establish partnerships and support promotional activities

•Number of outreach workers trained in issues related to domestic violence and civil harmony

•Number of townships (corregimientos) where awareness-raising activities have taken place

•Number of outreach workers trained to provide legal advice

•Number of directories printed and distributed

•Number of information kits for outreach workers who provide legal advice

•Prevention and promotion workshops in communities and schools in the district with the highest number of domestic violence cases

•Number of prevention and promotion campaigns in which all the key actors take part

Assistance

•Percentage of trained specialist staff assisting victims of domestic violence

•Number of women receiving assistance from the various agencies that help victims of domestic violence

•Number and type of institutions assessed that have and apply norms, protocols and regulations on comprehensive care for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, and functioning self-help groups

Violence against women

9. Please provide statistical information on how many cases of violence against women and girls have been reported during the period under consideration. Please also include detailed information on how many perpetrators of acts of violence against women have been prosecuted and punished during the same period. Please include statistical information on how many women have been murdered per year as a result of domestic violence during the period under consideration. The report refers to a project aimed at constituting a single data registration system for statistics on gender-based violence. Please provide information on the development of this project, between the National Directorate for Women in the Ministry of Social Development and the Statistics and Census Directorate in the Office of the Comptroller-General of the Republic.

According to statistics for the period 2005-2009, Panama City’s special prosecution services registered 17,067 complaints of violence against women and 1,198 complaints of violence against girls.

The Integrated National Crime Statistics System, established by Executive Decree No. 471 of 27 August 2007, is part of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice. Together with the Office of the Comptroller-General and other national bodies, it keeps updated statistics on gender violence.

Panama’s National Police has a special unit to deal with domestic violence, and the Directorate of Police Investigations maintains a database on this issue.

Number of complaints of domestic violence, 2004-2006

Month	Year
2004	2005	2006
January	84	128	205
February	101	96	144
March	108	144	169
April	97	120	166
May	106	97	165
June	129	131	148
July	130	113	138
August	119	139	138
September	97	135	129
October	98	138	129
November	84	151	97
December	75	121	70
Total	1 228	1 513	1 698

Source:Public Prosecutor’s Office, Victim Support Centre.

Offences registered by the Criminal Investigation Service in Panama, 1997-2006

Offence	Total	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Domestic violence	11 041	35	876	911	824	1 164	1 920	1 874	1 623	1 811

Source: Crime Statistics Unit, using data from the division overseeing agencies, sub-agencies, sections and units.

According to a study on femicide in Panama in 2000-2006, during that period 2,362 homicides were recorded, of which 221 victims were women, accounting for 9.36 per cent of the total (see table).

Homicides of women, 2000-2006

Year	Homicides of women
2000	29
2001	22
2002	42
2003	29
2004	24
2005	35
2006	40
Total	221

Source: Report on Femicide in Panama, 2000-2006.

Information on femicide cases is very limited due to the different criteria, contents and formats of the records kept by the various entitities producing statistics. As a result, many cases of non-intimate-partner femicides are classified under “unknown”, “unspecified”, “no information” or “insufficient information”.

With regard to Panama’s single data registration system, efforts are being coordinated with the National Statistics and Census Institute to ensure that the gender perspective is taken into account in all national statistics.

Moreover, great progress has been made in collecting data on gender violence from the various bodies concerned. In this regard, an agreement establishing Panama’s Gender Violence Monitoring Centre in the Office of the Ombudsman was signed on 21 May 2009. Under the agreement, the centre is to be a collaborative effort of the judiciary, the Office of the Procurator-General, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the National Institute for Women and the Office of the Comptroller-General.

10. The report refers to the National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence and Promote Civil Harmony, which is structured around five main areas, including prevention, care and rehabilitation and including local-level programmes on the strengthening of local domestic violence prevention and care activities. Please provide information on the plans the Government has to extend the local networks to all areas of the country, including the indigenous and most deprived areas, as well as the provision of shelters. Also, please provide detailed information on how many women and girls, at the local level, have benefited from these protective measures during the period under review.

The Ministry of the Interior and Justice has designated equal-opportunities focal points and offices in the Ministry’s various divisions. The focal points are responsible for mainstreaming gender issues and the prevention of gender-based violence and disability into plans, programmes, regulations and laws at the institutional level. The following served as a basis for extending the local networks on domestic violence prevention:

(a)The establishment of a government policy on domestic violence in 1994, under the slogan “Combating violence in all its forms”;

(b)The “Bambito III” agreement, under which the demands of the Women and Development Plan were taken up as official policy, and which advocates the creation of women’s affairs offices within State agencies;

(c)The 1998 launch of a campaign on “A life free of violence: your right”, promoted by the United Nations system: the campaign contributed to progress in combating domestic and family violence, and ran until 2001 in Panama;

(d)The establishment in 1999 of the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Plan, setting out measures to counter violence, particularly sexual violence;

(e)The establishment in 2000 of the network of governmental mechanisms to promote equal opportunities;

(f)The establishment in 2001 of the National Gender-Awareness Training Scheme;

(g)The establishment on 13 November 2002 of the network of government and civil institutions producing and using statistics for the incorporation of a gender perspective in national statistics;

(h)The introduction in 2002 of Panama’s system of gender-based indicators;

(i)The implementation of the second Equal Opportunities Plan for Women (PIOM II) in the period 2002-2006;

(j)The introduction in 2004 of the National Policy for Older Persons to help “build a society for people of all ages”, and the National Strategic Plan for Children and Adolescents.

A notable initiative in this context is the programme for strengthening the local management of domestic violence prevention and response, which backs up local management initiatives, in the belief that there is a comparative advantage in implementing violence prevention and response programmes at the local level.

This initiative led to the creation of local networks to combat domestic violence and to develop and implement local gender violence prevention and response plans, in order to help governmental, non-governmental and community agencies to tackle this complex problem in a comprehensive manner.

The local networks involve the health sector, the courts, the system of administrative justice, the education sector and civil society, and receive technical support from the National Institute for Women. Their aim is to establish a local model for gender violence prevention and response.

The local plans focus mainly on the people affected by domestic violence (such as women, children, persons with disabilities and older women) and on action vis-à-vis the offender, through the health services. They represent a structured and consensual response based on the work of government, non-governmental and community agencies.

Such a plan was implemented and proved to be a successful way to address the issue of domestic violence in the municipality of Panama (Juan Díaz), San Miguelito (main town) and the district of Soná (Veraguas province), which were pilot communities for launching the project, thus helping to promote similar initiatives in other districts or communities in the country.

Local domestic violence prevention and response networks, 1995-2008

Year	District	Province	Comments
1995	Juan Díaz	Panama
1996	Pocrí	Los Santos	Action was taken simultaneously in the districts of Soná (Veraguas province), Portobello (Colón province), La Pintada (Coclé province) and Panamá Oeste (Panama province).
			An institutional plan on domestic violence prevention and response and on harmonious coexistence was initiated with the theme “Safe communities in the municipalities in the twenty-first century” by the Ministry of Health, for the period 1996-1998.
2002	San Miguelito Soná	Panama Veraguas
2006	Chepo Chorrera	Panama
2007	Arraiján Colón Las Minas Las Tablas	Panama Colón Herrera Los Santos
2008	David Comarca Ngobe Buglé Nole Duima Mironó Besikó	Chiriquí Comarca Ngobe Buglé

Source: National Institute for Women, 2009.

The Soná local network maintains a centre which provides comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence, including guidance, social assistance and legal advice. The centre is known as a “centre for civil harmony and a culture of peace”, and was the result of coordination between the Ministry of Social Development, the Office of the Procurator-General and the municipality of Soná, which identified and provided the resources needed to set up the centre, which was inaugurated on 23 November 2005.

From October 2005 to June 2009, the centre, from which the network against domestic violence operates, conducted a range of activities, including the provision of guidance and assistance to about 1,500 victims of domestic violence — of whom 60 per cent were women and 40 per cent were men — in the district of Soná. The centre aims to provide guidance, advice and comprehensive care to victims of domestic violence.

The Nueva Vida (“New life”) shelter in Panama City aims primarily to provide temporary shelter to women and their children who are victims of domestic violence and who are at risk. It provides comprehensive care through an interdisciplinary team that offers psychosocial support and legal advice.

In 2005, the Nueva Vida shelter was run by a non-governmental organization and subsidized by the Ministry of Social Development, which took over the administration and running of the shelter in 2006, providing staff with expertise in psychology, social work, and legal advice and assistance. Since 2006, the shelter has provided assistance to 300 women and their children (283 girls and 242 boys). In addition, from 1994 to 2002 the Centre for Battered Women, which used to manage the Nueva Vida shelter, provided shelter to 546 women; it sheltered 68 people in the first four months of 2003.

Another shelter, the Casa de la Mujer Joven (“Home for young women”), in Chiriquí province, is currently being organized and equipped to receive women who are the victims of domestic violence: it will provide an institutional response to the plight of victims in need of comprehensive care.

11. Please specify whether rape in marriage is considered a crime. If not, does the Government have plans to criminalize it?

Rape in marriage is considered a crime in Panama and is punishable as a criminal offence, provided that it meets the definition in article 171 of the Criminal Code. Although the Criminal Code does not state outright that rape in marriage is a crime, article 171 does state that “anyone who uses violence or intimidation to have sexual intercourse with a person of either sex, using their genitals, shall be liable to a prison sentence of 5 to 10 years”. It then goes on to spell out aggravating circumstances that would raise the penalty to 8 to 12 years. Thus rape in marriage is punishable provided that the aggressor, whether male or female, uses physical violence or intimidation to have sexual intercourse with their spouse.

Trafficking and sexual exploitation of women

12. The present report notes that in recent years, for the first time, an effort has been made to investigate the factors, fundamental causes and repercussions associated with trafficking in persons and the exploitation of prostitution and to analyse the modus operandi of those engaged in such practices. However, the report does not provide information on the findings of such studies. Please provide information on commercial and sexual exploitation of women, girls and adolescents, including through trafficking, its incidence, causes and consequences. Please also provide information on any programmes or measures carried out to address this problem.

As regards programmes or measures carried out to address this problem, the following points can be made.

Panama has taken a number of steps to combat commercial sexual exploitation, one of the most important being the promulgation of Act No. 16 of 31 March 2004, which amended and created categories of offences in keeping with the minimum requirements of international law so as to provide adequate punishment for the various forms of commercial sexual exploitation. The Act also outlines a policy for combating this type of social scourge and provides for the creation of an inter-agency commission to be known as the National Commission for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation.

By law, the National Commission is the lead agency for policies to combat this scourge; its first national plan has been drawn up and covers the three-year period from 2008 to 2010.

The four main objectives of this plan are as follows:

•To prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of minors

•To care for and safeguard victims, so that they can once again exercise all their rights

•To punish those responsible for the exploitation

•To strengthen the National Commission for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation as the lead agency responsible for directing national efforts in this area

In a 2008 report on human trafficking, the Government noted that efforts to prevent human trafficking had been stepped up. In the past, foreign women were issued with an escort’s visa (an alternadora visa), but the Government has done away with this category of visa as part of an immigration reform package that came into force in August 2008. Although foreign women can still apply for entertainment visas, the Government has stepped up its efforts to prevent human trafficking by drawing up a register of businesses that request such visas and introducing stricter conditions for issuing such visas. In 2008, it sought to raise awareness and worked with NGOs and international organizations on projects to prevent trafficking. In an effort to reduce demand for commercial sex acts, the Government ran media campaigns warning that sexual exploitation is a punishable offence.

As regards prosecution and punishment, efforts have been made to define the best practices or procedures for detecting, prosecuting and punishing such offences. An operations manual has been prepared for law enforcement personnel, judges and prosecutors in order to enhance the effectiveness of the measures and produce the best results.

In this context, the national legal framework is provided by Act No. 16 of 2004 and Act No. 14 of 2007, by which the current Criminal Code was adopted. Panama has a national plan for the prevention and elimination of the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

The National Commission for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation — which is chaired by the Procurator-General — introduced this national plan for the period 2008-2010. There is also a guide to reporting the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

13. The report refers to different provisions that punish criminal practices associated with trafficking in persons and the exploitation of prostitution. Please provide statistical information on how many persons have been prosecuted and sentenced for these crimes during the period under review, and on how many women are alleged to have been victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. Please also specify the efforts that are being made to make women and girls aware of the importance of reporting trafficking and exploitation of prostitution.

According to the Department of Social Statistics in the Office of the Comptroller-General, only one case of sexual trafficking was reported, in 2007, under the category of offences against decency and sexual freedom.

In order to prevent trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation, Panama has launched campaigns against commercial sexual exploitation. Likewise, the International Labour Organization’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO/IPEC) has campaigned against trafficking through posters and television spots.

The Government, through the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family, has undertaken a number of initiatives relating to the commercial sexual exploitation of children, including the following projects and programmes:

•Project to help prevent and eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of minors in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, in cooperation with ILO/IPEC;

•Study on how to help prevent and eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of minors in Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic (conducted in 2009);

•The signing of an agreement with the Centre for Family Studies and Training, with technical and financial support from ILO/IPEC, which has led to a programme of action on caring for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation in the townships of Tocumen, 24 de Diciembre and Las Mañanitas. This programme covers some 40 children who were identified in the first phase of the programme and provides them with comprehensive care (treatment and follow-up to ensure that they remain within the educational system). It is coordinated with other State institutions and with Casa Esperanza, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development, and with technical and financial support from ILO/IPEC.

The Ministry of Social Development, through the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family, follows up complaints submitted by victims of commercial sexual exploitation by:

•Securing the participation of institutions such as the special prosecution services, the Criminal Investigation Directorate, ILO/IPEC and private organizations such as Casa Esperanza in the exchange of baseline information (indicators) and in efforts to improve intervention;

•Participating in the Third World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in Rio de Janeiro from 25 to 28 November 2008.

As regards current activities to raise children’s awareness of commercial sexual exploitation, the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family is carrying out a project aimed at reducing and eradicating the personal, family- or community-related, and institutional or social risk factors that contribute to the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Panama.

14. In its previous concluding observations, in 1999, the Committee expressed concern at the discriminatory treatment received by women engaged in prostitution in Panama , especially regarding the difficulties involved in seeking legal redress in the case of rape. Please provide information on any efforts or measures carried out to tackle these difficulties. Also, please specify whether any special unit has been established in this regard.

Pursuant to the principles of equality and inclusion, the judiciary in Panama has set itself the task of mainstreaming a gender perspective across the board and at all levels, inter alia through a sensitization and awareness-raising campaign designed to eliminate any discrimination against women using the justice system. Accordingly, Government Order No. 806 of 11 September 2008 established the Gender and Justice Unit to introduce and coordinate a policy of accessibility within the institution so as to enable persons whose rights are threatened to have effective access to justice.

Political participation and participation in public life

15. According to the report, Act No. 4 “instituting equal opportunities”, which amended the Electoral Code, establishes the obligation of the Government to guarantee the participation of at least 30 per cent of women as ministers, vice ministers and directors of autonomous and semi-autonomous authorities and other government entities. Please provide detailed information on the measures taken in order to implement Act No. 4. Also, please provide information on any campaigns or training programmes that have been carried out to encourage participation of women in politics, decision-making positions and public life, following the previous recommendation of the Committee.

Democracy has been further strengthened in Panama with the holding of transparent general elections in which the will of the people has been respected, as evidenced by the fact that those who obtained a majority of the votes were declared the winners under the system of proportional representation established in the Panamanian Constitution and electoral laws.

In Panama, 1992 can be viewed as the year when women’s groups (such as the Forum for Women in Political Parties) began seeking changes to the electoral laws so as to include rules that would guarantee women’s active participation in politics.

Such rules would ensure that women participated in the internal activities of political parties by requiring a minimum number of women candidates for party leadership positions and on the parties’ lists of candidates for election.

This legislative proposal, variously described as a “quota system”, a “minimum percentage of women participating in politics” or “affirmative action”, ultimately led to the electoral reform of 1997.

The rules applicable to women’s participation within political parties and in elected office are described below.

1.Electoral reform of 1997

Act No. 22 of 14 July 1997, amending the Electoral Code, included for the first time a requirement concerning the participation of women, or a system of quotas or affirmative action.

Essentially it was stipulated that, in internal elections, political parties should try to ensure that at least 30 per cent of the candidates for positions within the party or for positions whose incumbents were elected by popular vote were women.

However, the effectiveness of this provision was undermined by the addition of another rule which stated that if the number of women participants was lower than the figure referred to in the rule, political parties could fill the post with any other member running for election to the post.

The effectiveness of the 30 per cent minimum is said to have been undermined because the amendment did not stipulate what mechanism or internal authority of the collective body would set out the criteria to be used in determining whether women’s participation had fallen below the minimum percentage referred to in the rule.

Another feature of the 1997 amendment to the Electoral Code was that it introduced, again for the first time, a direct government subsidy (public financing) for independent candidates and political parties.

With regard to the issue of women’s participation, it was agreed that 10 per cent of the government subsidy received by political parties for training — which accounts for 25 per cent of the annual subsidy — should be used for training women.

1999 general election

A total of 763 elective offices and 910 alternate positions were up for election, distributed as follows:

	Elective offices	Alternate positions
President	1	2
Lawmakers	71	142
Mayors	75	150
Township representatives	589	589
Councillors	7	7
Central American Parliament	20	20

The total number of officially registered candidates, running either as representatives of political parties or as independents, was 10,057.

Of that total, 4,670 were candidates for office, barely 626 of whom, or a scarce 13 per cent, were women.

Of the 5,387 candidates for alternate positions, 1,022, or 19 per cent, were women and 81 per cent were men.

The following table shows female candidates disaggregated by the type of office sought in the general election of 2 May 1999:

	Elective offices	Alternate positions
President	1	1
Lawmakers	90	299
Mayors	49	143
Township representatives	464	555
Councillors	1	1
Central American Parliament	21	23

After the votes had been counted in the general election of 2 May 1999, the following numbers of female candidates were declared elected:

	Elective offices	Alternate positions
President	1	0
Lawmakers	7	26
Mayors	10	24
Township representatives	61	77
Councillors	1	1
Central American Parliament	5	8

In summary, 85 of the women candidates for the 763 elective offices were elected. Only 136 of the 910 women candidates for alternate positions were elected.

Thus, in 1999, 11 per cent of candidates elected to office were women and 89 per cent were men, while 15 per cent of alternates elected were women and 85 per cent were men.

Despite the relatively low figures for women overall, for the first time in the history of Panama a woman was elected to the highest office in the land.

2.Electoral reform of 2002

Act No. 6 of 17 December 2002 further amended the Electoral Code, although no change was made to the 1997 rule on women’s participation. The situation in the general election of 2 May 2004 is set out below.

2004 general election

A total of 800 elective offices and 954 alternate positions were up for election:

	Elective offices	Alternate positions
President	1	2
Lawmakers	78	156
Mayors	75	150
Township representatives	619	619
Councillors	7	7
Central American Parliament	20	20

The total number of candidates, running either as representatives of political parties or as independents, who submitted applications to and were accepted by the Electoral Tribunal for election to office or as an alternate, was 12,124.

Of that number, 5,561 were candidates for office, barely 746 of whom, or 13.41 per cent, were women.

Of the 6,563 candidates for alternate positions, 1,163, or 17.72 per cent, were women.

The number of women candidates disaggregated by type of office sought in the general election of 2 May 2004 is shown in the following table:

	Elective offices	Alternate positions
President	0	1
Lawmakers	74	233
Mayors	77
Township representatives	565	709
Councillors	5
Central American Parliament	25	32

Women were declared elected in the general election of 2 May 2004 as follows:

	Elective offices	Alternate positions
President	0	0
Lawmakers	12	34
Mayors	7	32
Township representatives	61	86
Councillors	0	1
Central American Parliament	6	4

In summary, 86, or 10.75 per cent, of the 800 elective offices were won by women. Of the 954 alternate positions, only 157, or 16.45 per cent, were won by women.

3.Electoral reform of 2006

Act No. 60 of 29 December 2006 amended the Electoral Code and constitutes the current Electoral Code.

It establishes a 30 per cent minimum quota for women candidates for both internal party positions and public elective office. In addition, at least 10 per cent of the training subsidy provided to political parties (25 per cent of the total subsidy) must be allocated to training activities reserved for women.

The innovations introduced by the 2006 amendments include:

(a)Article 237 establishes for the first time that “political parties are required to inform the Electoral Tribunal of the results of their primary elections within 15 working days of the elections, calculated from the time of official proclamation of the result, and including the number and percentage of members participating. After receiving notice of the result, the Electoral Tribunal shall publish it in the Electoral Bulletin within five days”.

Comments: This article, pursuant to article 92 of the new Electoral Act, requires political parties to establish a body responsible for the internal election process. It also establishes the obligation to identify the internal authority responsible for dealing with any dispute over the outcome, and the internal remedies available, which must be exhausted before an appeal can be lodged with the Electoral Tribunal. It can therefore be assumed that when a party informs the Electoral Tribunal of the results of its internal elections, any disputes over the outcome have already been resolved. A party member nevertheless has the right to appeal to the Electoral Tribunal within 10 working days of the date on which internal remedies were exhausted.

(b)Article 239, paragraph 3, provides that “in cases where women’s participation rate, as confirmed by the party’s Women’s Secretariat, is below the percentage set out in this law, political parties may add other candidates’ names for election to the offices in question”.

Comments: This provision identifies which internal body in a party is responsible for calculating and attesting to the fact that the number of women candidates is below the required minimum percentage. The article makes it clear that each political party must establish in its by-laws a Women’s Secretariat if it has not already done so and that one of the roles of the Women’s Secretariat is to ensure that the procedures and rules relating to members’ participation place women on an equal footing.

16. The report also refers to Act No. 6 of 17 December 2002, which establishes the obligation “to allocate at least 10 per cent of said funding to the training of women”. Please provide detailed information on whether this obligation has been implemented and the results of such implementation.

Act No. 22 of 14 July 1997 amending the Electoral Code provided, for the first time, for State funding of political parties and independent candidates.

The formula addresses pre-election needs in a fair and balanced way, and is subject to audit and follow-up by the Electoral Tribunal.

The post-election portion of the subsidy provided for in the Act is paid out over five years in order to cover the period between elections while minimizing the burden on public finances. Act No. 60 of 29 December 2006 subsequently amended the rules relating to pre-election and post-election public funding.

Under the current rules, public funding in Panama works as follows:

•Existing political parties receive an equal share of funding amounting to 20 per cent of the total.

•The basic amount provided to them is supplemented in proportion to the number of votes they receive for all elected offices (by type), in other words, votes obtained in elections for President, lawmakers, mayors and township representatives.

With regard to training for women, the rules governing public funding emphasize civic and electoral education, in particular education about democracy, the importance of the rule of law, the role of elected officials in a democratic society and the principles and platforms of each party with regard to national economic, political, social and cultural issues and training.

The rules require that at least 25 per cent of the annual subsidy be allocated to training activities, of which at least 10 per cent must be allocated to activities aimed exclusively at training women. The Electoral Tribunal is responsible for regulating, supervising and auditing the allocation of public funding with a view to ensuring its effectiveness.

Party	Members	Men	Women	Men (as a percentage)	Women (as a percentage)
Partido Revolucionario Democrático	15 791	7 651	8 140	48	52
Solidaridad	7 150	4 170	2 980	58	42
Partido Liberal Nacional	917	213	704	23	77
Unión Patriótica	24 396	13 362	11 034	55	45
Partido Panameñista	5 152	2 940	2 212	57	43
Cambio Democrático	8 319	5 342	2 977	64	36
Partido Popular	1 787	1 186	601	66	34
Movimiento Liberal Republicano Nacionalista (MOLIRENA)	499	372	127	75	25

Note: Figures take into account training initiatives undertaken by the political parties during the five-year period from July 2004 to March 2009.

Education and stereotypes

17. The report points out that, despite the feminization of university enrolment that the country is experiencing, analysis of the programmes in which women students predominate suggests that there are still cultural factors which prevent them from choosing certain non-traditional programmes. Please provide specific information on these programmes and on the efforts carried out by the Government to eliminate remaining stereotypes that discriminate against women in the field of education.

It is fairly difficult at the present time to determine the parameters defining traditional university programmes in terms of women’s access to them. In Panama there are no restrictions whatsoever on women’s access to any university programme, but it is probable that cultural factors do produce situations of this kind. It is likely that part of Panamanian society still thinks that there are university programmes reserved for men, but this attitude is gradually dying out with regard to some of the programmes, and it is also likely that the increasing numbers of women enrolling in programmes traditionally regarded as reserved for men find that no such obstacle exists.

Panama has enrolment figures for 2005 for the country’s 4 public and 26 private universities. Women accounted for 61 per cent of the total, and the male/female ratio averaged 63 men for every 100 women. In only four of the 30 universities (one public and three private) did male enrolment exceed female enrolment. In all three of these private universities the total enrolment was fewer than 200 students.

The Technological University of Panama, a public institution, had more men than women on its roll: 228 men for every 100 women. Only three of its 27 degree courses had a ratio of 100 or fewer men for every 100 women; the rest of the courses had ratios of between 120 and 2,850 men for every 100 women.

Despite the shortage of data, the enrolment for 2000 has been analysed for purposes of comparison. Women accounted for 63 per cent of the total enrolment, and the male/female ratio was 59 men for every 100 women.

In 2000, the Technological University of Panama had 230 male for every 100 female students. Only three out of 14 degree courses had fewer men than women. Five of the courses saw the ratio of men to women decline in the period 2000-2005, but male enrolment was still much larger than female enrolment. These courses were civil engineering, electrical technology, electronics technology, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering.

This brief analysis indicates a tendency for women to make inroads, although still timidly, in programmes previously regarded as reserved for men.

18. In paragraph 129 the report states that, according to a report by the Institute for Human Resources Training and Development, women receive more scholarships than men at every level: primary, secondary and/or university. Please provide detailed information disaggregated by subject and urban/rural areas on the scholarships received by women.

For the period 1994-2006 the figures provided by the Institute for Human Resources Training and Development show that 75,699 scholarships were received by women in urban areas and 66,727 in rural areas (53 and 47 per cent respectively).

In terms of level of education, the State offers a number of scholarships at the university level, the figures for which show that women are more likely to opt for courses in the areas of administration and law (32 per cent), followed by architecture, engineering and technology (17 per cent), economics, social sciences and medicine (17 per cent) and food science (17 per cent).

The figures for administration courses include scholarships to study business administration, accounting and law. These subjects relate to the services sector, which is booming in Panama. The international scholarships awarded to Panamanians (mostly by Spain and Chile) are for courses in public administration, tourism, etc.

It remains for the Institute for Human Resources Training and Development to undertake the following tasks: (a) produce an annual analysis of the national and international scholarships received by women; and (b) develop, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, projects to collect information on children who receive scholarships and support under the Opportunities Network Programme in all schools in the country.

19. Please provide information on the incidence of teenage pregnancy in Panama and its impact on girls ’ educational achievement. Please also provide information about support for pregnant adolescents or young mothers to continue their education, including statistical information on how many young mothers have benefited from support programmes in order to continue their studies. In this regard, the report refers to Act No. 29 of 3 June 2002, guaranteeing the health and education of pregnant adolescents. Please specify what supervisory mechanisms, if any, exist to ensure the effective implementation of this law.

The Office of Population and Human Development of the Ministry of Education carries out programmes to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

As stipulated in Act No. 29, it is mandatory for all schools that report a teenage pregnancy to ensure that the girl in question can continue her education by means of a modular system or some other appropriate arrangement. It is to be hoped that the girls included in the statistical information submitted by each school receive the support reflected in the table below.

Supervisory mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the law

School staff up to level of head teacher have to supervise the progress of pregnant teenagers, but there is no higher-level supervisory mechanism to produce consolidated records or figures on how many girls complete the school year.

With respect to the incidence of teenage pregnancy, school statistics on pregnant schoolgirls for the years 2005-2008 are given in the table below.

Table 1. Pregnant schoolgirls, by education level and area (school years 2005-2008)

	2005	2006	2007	2008
Primary
Urban	1	6	3	7
Rural	10	14	25	21
Indigenous		11	16	17
Junior high
Urban	257	440	497	506
Rural	80	127	147	171
Indigenous	16	23	51	56
Secondary
Urban	511	232	238	270
Rural	84	6	11	13
Indigenous	7	1	1	1

Source: Ministry of Education, National Directorate of Education Planning, Department of Statistics.

Table 2 shows the number of live births to adolescent mothers in the same period, according to Ministry of Health data. The figures include babies born to girls who have attended school and to those who have not done so.

Table 2. Live births to adolescent mothers in the 10-19 age group, by health region, 2005-2008

Health region/district	2005	2006	2007	2008
Overall total	12 268	12 500	12 887	13 374
Bocas del Toro	1 026	1 032	1 046	1 102
Coclé	815	864	836	816
Colón	1 029	968	1 022	1 090
Chiriquí	1 554	1 578	1 599	1 711
Darién	392	370	374	367
Herrera	300	289	273	283
Los Santos	216	216	186	184
Panama	5 116	5 302	5 444	5 696
Panamá Este	381	457	441	466
Panamá Oeste	1 205	1 167	1 237	1 414
Metropolitana	1 680	1 786	1 825	1 942
San Miguelito	1 850	1 892	1 941	1 874
Veraguas	797	792	836	771
Comarca Kuna Yala	248	235	244	222
Comarca Ngobe Buglé	775	854	1 027	1 132

Source: Vital Statistics database, INEC, Office of the Comptroller-General.

Employment

20. The report points out that 72.7 per cent of the non-economically active population are female. It also states that employed women are principally engaged in wholesale and retail trade, domestic service, manufacturing, hotels and restaurants, and teaching. Please provide information on plans the State party has to reduce the high rate of unemployment among women. Also, please provide information on the levels of remuneration for women and men performing the same jobs in the public and private sector. Also, please include detailed information on the activities and conditions of women working in the informal sector.

The Ministry of Labour and Labour Development is particularly concerned about discrimination against women and for two months it has been holding consultations on gender issues in the Directorate-General for Employment with the Spanish International Cooperation Agency for Development under the Vocational Training and Employment Programme.

These consultations have resulted in the re-establishment of the Gender and Work Commission in the form of a top-level institutional colloquium on gender mainstreaming as a cross-cutting issue in the work of the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development, with the participation of the National Institute for Women, the Women’s Economic Agency and the Violence Monitoring Centre of the Office of the Ombudsman.

Following this colloquium, the first steps were taken to establish a Gender and Work Office in the Ministry, an objective already set out in the cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development signed on 22 April 2008. The purpose of this office is “... to establish the necessary legal framework for collaboration between the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development in order to boost gender mainstreaming in the economy and its input in the institutions of the public sector by setting up a Gender and Work Office in the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development pursuant to Act No. 4 of 29 January 1999 on equal opportunities for women, and the implementation of measures for gender mainstreaming in all the activities, programmes and projects of the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development”.

The parties thus committed themselves to working together to prevent and eliminate this kind of discrimination in Panamanian society by taking action to secure the full integration of Panamanian women in the country’s political, economic, social and cultural development.

Where the levels of women’s remuneration are concerned, while it is true that there is a substantial wage gap between men and women, it should be noted that average wages have risen and that the Government, in accordance with its gender policy, has been endeavouring to narrow this gap.

Since 2008 the Government has been employing more women than men (106,138 women as compared to 104,526 men), with an increase of 6,076 in the number of posts held by women. This development can be seen more clearly in table 411-13 of the Household Survey, August 2007-2008 (“Panama’s economically active population aged 15 or over, by sex, province, type of economic activity, and employment category”; see annex 1).

The picture is totally different in the private sector: the male economically active population totals 446,519, while women lag far behind with a total of 178,892.

It must be pointed out in this connection that in recent years Panama has seen a considerable increase in men’s employment and remuneration as a result of rapid growth in the construction sector, which is generating more jobs, mostly for men (few women work in this sector), and is thus widening even further the gap both between male and female employment and between the wages earned by men and women.

An additional factor accentuating these differences is that construction workers have a trade union which has a collective agreement providing for wages that are much higher than the minimum wage. It should also be pointed out that the wage gap is aggravated by the fact that women are more likely to be employed in the commercial and services sector in jobs which usually pay the minimum wage. This situation may be seen clearly in table 441-10 of the Household Survey, August 2007-2008 (“Panama’s economically active population aged 15 or over, by sex, area, province, and type of economic activity in the category of economic activity”).

This table shows that 134,202 men and 3,622 women were employed in the construction sector. Clearly, considerably fewer women than men are employed in this sector.

21. In paragraph 135 the report refers to different actions undertaken to eliminate discrimination against women in employment. Please provide detailed information on these actions and their impact. Also provide additional information on the activities carried out by the Labour Ministry ’ s Gender and Work Commission to foster institutional capacity for gender mainstreaming at work, including information on its composition, functioning, structure and activities.

The Gender and Work Commission is composed of two staff members from each directorate in the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development, and representatives of the National Institute for Women and the Women’s Economic Agenda project. Since its establishment in March 2007, the Commission has arranged the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development (in April 2008), one of the objectives of which was to establish a Gender and Work Office.

In addition, the Commission has carried out many activities aimed at strengthening institutional capacity for gender mainstreaming, such as the following:

•Awareness-raising and discussion sessions for officials and staff of the Ministry’s various offices on the topic of gender inequality as an obstacle to human development and on improving the understanding and practice of gender mainstreaming in the workplace

•Participation of staff from the Department of Statistics in regional workshops on gender statistics

•Participation of Budget Directorate staff in workshops on such topics as “gender-sensitive budgeting in practice” and in a special postgraduate course on economics, gender and development

•Other workshops with trade union members, designed to promote the inclusion of women’s needs in collective agreements

•Initial approach to the topic of domestic work, with the organization of a forum and workshop for female domestic workers

22. The report states that although Panama does not have laws specifically targeting sexual harassment, there are laws that punish such activities. Please specify whether the Government is planning to criminalize sexual harassment in the workplace.

Article 175 of Act No. 14 of 18 May 2007, adopting the Criminal Code, criminalizes sexual harassment and makes abuse of authority an aggravating factor.

Article 175 reads as follows:

Anyone who, for sexual reasons, harasses a person of either gender shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment or the equivalent in day-fines or weekend detention.

The punishment shall be increased to two to four years’ imprisonment in the following cases:

1....

2.If the perpetrator abused his or her authority in committing the act.

Health

23. In its previous concluding observations, in 1999, the Committee expressed deep concern in connection with the reproductive health of Panamanian women and an apparent setback to the right to abortion, in cases where the pregnancy is a result of rape. The Committee recommended that Panamanian women who are pregnant as a result of rape should be granted an opportunity to seek termination of pregnancies. Please provide detailed and specific information regarding any measures carried out by the Government to follow the Committee ’ s recommendation. Please also provide statistical information on how many abortions have been performed on women who are pregnant as a result of rape. Please provide information on measures taken to raise victims ’ awareness of the importance of seeking medical treatment and reporting after sexual and other assaults.

With regard to abortion in the case of rape, article 142, paragraph 1, of the Criminal Code provides as follows:

The punishments set forth in the previous articles shall not apply:

If the abortion is carried out, with the woman’s consent, in order to terminate a pregnancy resulting from a rape which has been duly confirmed through a preliminary investigation.

The Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health of the Directorate General of Health received 17 requests for termination of pregnancy in 2008, none of which involved a pregnancy resulting from rape. Thus far in 2009, 11 requests for termination of pregnancy have been received, 2 of which were from women who were pregnant as a result of rape.

The Ministry of Health currently has no programme that includes measures to raise victims’ awareness of the importance of seeking medical treatment after an assault and reporting the incident.

24. The report refers to the health of adolescent girls and, in this regard, it states that 29.1 per cent of pregnant adolescents receive prenatal care. Please explain why the rate is so low and provide information on what measures the Government is taking to increase the percentage of pregnant adolescents receiving prenatal care.

Through the National Programme of Comprehensive Health Care for Adolescents, the Government has developed policies to promote adolescent health, as follows:

1.Health policies and strategies, 2005-2009;

2.Technical and administrative norms for the National Programme of Comprehensive Health Care for Adolescents;

3.Child and adolescent reproductive health-care guides, Panama, 2006;

4.Compilation of international agreements and national laws on comprehensive health care for adolescents (ages 10-19), with an emphasis on sexual and reproductive health;

5.Guide to comprehensive health care for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation;

6.Management tools for providing comprehensive health care for adolescents and young people, 2009 (in progress);

7.National health plan for children and adolescents.

25. The report refers to the 2005 Report on Women ’ s Health in Panama , which identifies the five leading causes of death among women as: upper respiratory tract infections, influenza, skin and subcutaneous tissue infections, diarrhoea and urinary system diseases. Please explain whether any epidemiological assessment has been done to analyse the reasons for these causes of death and if any of them are related to women ’ s living environment or any work-related activity. Please also provide statistical information on rates of maternal mortality, as well as on other causes of death for women, disaggregated by urban/rural areas. Also, please provide information on access to health services by elderly women.

The following table contains the statistics for 2008 on causes of death among women. The Ministry of Health has not carried out an epidemiological assessment to analyse the reasons for these causes of death.

Ten leading causes of death among women in Panama, 2008

Cause a	Women
No.	Rate b
Total	6 246	371.0
Malignant tumours	1 138	67.6
Accidents, self-inflicted wounds, assaults and other violent causes	306	18.2
Ischaemic heart disease	641	38.1
Cerebrovascular disease	649	38.5
Diabetes mellitus	477	28.3
Other heart diseases	367	21.8
Pneumonia	283	16.8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	224	13.3
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)	103	6.1
Perinatal infections	133	7.9
Other causes	1 925	114.3

Source: Database analysis provided by Vital Statistics Department, Statistics and Census Directorate, Office of the Comptroller-General.

Note: Tumours are grouped together; circulatory system diseases are the leading cause of death.

aBased on the list of 80 cause-of-death groups, ICD-10.

bPer 100,000 women, based on population estimates.

As for women’s access to health services, Panama has 918 health facilities, 817 of which are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. Of these, 25 are hospitals, 193 are health centres, 112 are sub-centres and 467 are health posts. Health services are widely available throughout the country to both insured and uninsured women. Free health services are also available to pregnant women and beneficiaries of programmes for children. Skilled practitioners provide care during childbirth to 94.2 per cent of women. However, even though services are available throughout the country, poor, rural and indigenous women face significant educational and cultural barriers to access to such services. Many women, especially those in poor and marginal sectors, postpone their own health care because of household and childcare responsibilities; these stem from the predominance of a patriarchal family model, built on hierarchical relationships of power and subordination, where men control the family’s resources, thus feeding the vicious circle of poverty and making it difficult for women to have access to health, education, work and income. The social stereotype that portrays women as being strong within the household has put them in a position of having to take on the roles of mother and father at the same time, often because their spouses have abandoned them and they have been forced to become heads of household. They must then provide financial, psychological and emotional support to their families and may at times neglect their own health and personal care.

The following table presents statistics on the total number of health consultations provided to women during 2008.

Total consultations provided to women in Panama, by type of care, 2008

		Type of care
Health region	Total number of consultations	Check-up	Morbidity
Country total	2 036 634	871 793	1 164 841
Bocas del Toro	58 444	29 045	29 399
Coclé	203 866	95 493	108 373
Colón	153 570	67 286	86 284
Chiriquí	256 687	84 234	172 453
Darién	83 749	34 673	49 076
Herrera	186 514	40 209	146 305
Los Santos	122 224	30 857	91 367
Panamá Este	92 508	42 614	49 894
Panamá Oeste	267 859	143 146	124 713
Panamá Metro	344 689	172 497	172 192
San Miguelito	266 524	131 739	134 785
Veraguas	259 958	85 966	173 992
Comarca Kuna Yala	62 609	24 627	37 982
Comarca Ngobe Bugl é	218 141	104 494	113 647

Source: Ministry of Health, Health Planning Directorate, Department of Health Records and Statistics.

26. The report does not provide any information on current rates of women infected with HIV/AIDS. Please provide statistical and updated information on women and girls infected with HIV/AIDS, as well as detailed information on the activities and initiatives carried out by the Government to combat this problem. In this regard, please provide additional information on the consolidation of the NGO and HIV/AIDS Network and the organization and development of the religious sector ’ s network for HIV/AIDS prevention, which is mentioned in the report as one of the initiatives to combat this issue.

The current rate of HIV/AIDS infection in women is 10.9 (see table below).

HIV/AIDS infection in women, 2008 (preliminary information)

Year	Number of women	Rate a
2008	183	10.9

Source: Ministry of Health, Directorate-General for Health, Department of Epidemiology, Statistics Section.

aPer 100,000 women, based on population estimates.

Statistics for HIV/AIDS infection in women, as well as for deaths and methods of transmission, are given below.

Women infected with HIV/AIDS up to 2008

Cases	Total deaths	Method of transmission
2 489	1 651	Sexually transmitted (heterosexual): 1,685 Transmitted by blood: Blood recipients: 14 Intravenous drug use: 12 Perinatal transmission: 158 Unknown/not specified: 620

Source: Ministry of Health, Directorate-General for Health, National Programme for STI/HIV/AIDS.

Government activities and initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS

1.Technical, administrative and procedural standards of the Programme of Comprehensive Health Care for Women, 2005.

2.Standards for comprehensive treatment of persons with HIV/AIDS.

3.The national multisectoral plan for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in Panama, which aims to halve (from 14 to 7 per cent) the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2014.

4.Brochures:

(a)Let’s talk about HIV/AIDS;

(b)Panamanians with HIV/AIDS tell their stories;

(c)How to store condoms;

(d)Methodological guidelines;

(e)How to manage occupational exposure to HIV/AIDS;

(f)Operating manual for the programme on sexually transmitted infections (STI);

(g)Standards for monitoring congenital syphilis;

(h)The STI/HIV/AIDS multisectoral strategic plan.

With regard to the NGO and HIV/AIDS Network and the religious sector’s network, SERESIDA (a religious umbrella organization) involves all the Christian denominations in the country in work to prevent the spread of STI/HIV/AIDS.

In addition, the Alianza Estratégica de la Lucha contra el SIDA (Strategic Alliance against AIDS) encompasses some 15 NGOs working on HIV/AIDS prevention.

The National Commission on HIV/AIDS was set up by executive decree on 22 January 2008. It is composed of 16 representatives of the public sector and civil society whose aim is to promote, support and coordinate cross-sectoral action that brings together the public sector, civil society organizations and private enterprise to curb and control the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Panama.

27. In paragraph 152, the report refers to the progress made with sexual and reproductive health policy in Panama , including a decline in the overall fertility rate from 2.7 in 1990 - 1999 to 2.43 in 2004. Please provide updated statistical information on fertility rates during all the period under review, disaggregated by age. Also, please provide information on Act No. 48 of 13 May 1941 allowing sterilization, specifying the content of the Act and if it is still in effect.

The updated fertility rate is 2.5. The text of Act No. 48 is attached.

Overall fertility rate

Year	Rate
2008	2.5

Source: Ministry of Health, Department of Health Records and Statistics.

Social and economic benefits

28. Please provide specific and detailed information on any limits women may face to access lines of credit, mortgages and other forms of financial assistance. Please specify if any efforts are being carried out by the Government in order to eliminate any de facto inequality between women and men on these issues.

The aim of the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Authority, established by Act No. 8 of 29 May 2000, is to promote the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises through policies to stimulate and strengthen the sector and thereby help to generate productive employment, increase the country’s economic growth and achieve a better distribution of national income.

The Authority pursues that aim by implementing projects and programmes that target various sectors of the national economy, with no political, religious or gender discrimination. However, access to credit is limited in rural and indigenous areas, a problem which is significantly more serious for the 72.7 per cent of women in such areas who are not in the workforce.

In an effort to reduce the high rate of unemployment, particularly among women, the Authority is putting into practice the Government’s new approach to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, seeking to develop the sector as a tool to reduce poverty, support entrepreneurship, provide the neediest with access to finance and, above all, reduce the high unemployment rate, particularly among women.

These aims are pursued through the Authority’s training and technical assistance programmes, particularly the microcredit or credit guarantee programme supporting microbusiness-owners with no access to credit and encouraging financial institution to make loans. This will have help reduce poverty and improve the population’s quality of life.

Indigenous and rural women

29. According to the report, almost all (98.4 per cent) of the indigenous population is poor and 90 per cent live in extreme poverty. Please indicate what measures have been taken by the Government to improve the living conditions of indigenous and rural women, as well as access to employment. Also, please provide information on results achieved in order to provide indigenous women and girls with access to health services and education.

According to the Ministry of Social Development, which ran the Muévete por Panamá (“Get Ahead for Panama”) campaign, 41,852 individuals — 67.5 per cent of them women and 32.5 per cent men — were given literacy training.

The table below contains statistics providing information by province; the table which follows provides information on the 15-24 age group.

Muévete por Panamá literacy programme: recipients, by province (July 2007-20 May 2009)

Province or comarca	Total
Total	41 852
Bocas del Toro	4 054
Coclé	2 200
Colón	671
Chiriquí	5 974
Darién	1 864
Herrera	3 765
Los Santos	3 173
Panamá	7 298
Veraguas	3 704
Kuna Yala	1 312
Emberá Wounaán	1 151
Ngäbe Buglé	6 686

Source: Ministry of Social Development.

The statistics break down as follows by area:

Area	Women	Men	Total
Urban	7 141	3 169	10 310
Rural	21 031	10 511	31 542
Total	28 173	13 679	41 852

Students benefiting from the Opportunities Network Programme (by level of education and area)

	2007		2008
	Male	Female		Male	Female
Preschool
Urban	230	223		159	183
Rural	807	752		2 279	2 288
Indigenous	2 472	2 474		2 630	2 585
Primary
Urban	376	357		968	888
Rural	4 909	4 496		15 384	14 441
Indigenous	13 002	12 514		16 345	15 388
Junior high
Urban	40	36		128	168
Rural	643	654		2 404	2 400
Indigenous	1 480	1 199		2 565	1 989

Source: National Education Planning Directorate, Department of Statistics.

The Ministry of Education gathers information on children enrolled in school who receive support from the Opportunities Network Programme in all schools in the country.

30. In its previous concluding observations, the Committee expressed concern that 53 per cent of the female population was illiterate, the majority of these being indigenous women. Please provide information on the efforts and initiatives carried out to decrease the percentage of illiteracy among indigenous and rural women, as well as the outcomes of such initiatives. In this regard, please provide information on the implementation of the indigenous women ’ s literacy programme from the Ministry of Education ’ s Intercultural Bilingual Unit. Kindly provide additional information on the “Get Ahead for Panama ” (Muévete por Panamá) literacy campaign and on the Opportunities Network Programme. Please specify what the outcomes of these programmes have been during the period under review.

The implementation of the Opportunities Network Programme covers the period 2006-2009. It is a State programme driven and implemented by the Government as part of the strategy to alleviate extreme poverty.

The aim is to integrate families living in extreme poverty into the mainstream of development by building capacities, guaranteeing education, health and nutrition services and improving quality of life.

The programme reaches all townships suffering extreme poverty, whether in comarcas or in urban or rural areas.

In the comarcas (Ngäbe Buglé, Emberá Wounaan and Kuna Yala), the Opportunities Network Programme has contributed to greater social cohesion in terms of shared family responsibilities, resulting in a lower school dropout rate and greater use of health services.

Public spending that goes directly to households identified as living in extreme poverty amounts to 23 million balboas (source: Ministry of Social Development, Social Welfare Secretariat, 2008).

31. The report refers to the so-called “With You Rural Woman” (Contigo Mujer Rural) project, which grants microcredits to women in rural and indigenous communities. Please provide information on any efforts taken to increase the access of rural and indigenous women to these microcredits.

The Office of the First Lady oversees the Veranera project “With You Rural Woman” (Contigo Mujer Rural), an employment-generation project for women in the countryside. Its purpose is to promote and offer training, microcredit, technical assistance and follow-up. It targets about 1,240 campesino and indigenous women, preferably heads of household, living in poor rural communities. It covers the provinces of Veraguas, Coclé, Herrera, Chiriquí, Los Santos, Colón, Panamá Este and Panamá Oeste and the comarca of Ngäbe Buglé. The most popular areas for microcredit are livestock (64 per cent), goods and services (32 per cent) and agriculture (3 per cent). The total microcredit provided between 2005 and 2008 was 454,594 balboas. The project is expected to benefit 3,000 women in the period 2010-2014, at a cost of 1.5 million balboas.

Migrant women

32. Please provide information on the situation of migration of women and girls in Panama , both internally and internationally, including information about the number and profile of migrant women and girls and steps being taken to protect migrant women from abuse, exploitation and violence.

Title VIII of Decree Law No. 3 of 22 February 2008 provides for protection of victims.

Protection and prevention measures

Article 81. The National Migration Service shall ensure compliance with the applicable rules in the Republic of Panama with regard to the prevention and punishment of the crimes of trafficking in persons and migrant-smuggling.

In the exercise of its functions, it shall contribute to the prevention and punishment of acts related to illegal activities such as abduction, transnational organized crime, drug-trafficking, money-laundering and related crimes, terrorism and its financing, illegal trafficking in weapons and explosives, diversion of dual-use merchandise for illegal purposes, and illegal possession and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Article 82. A unit to care for victims of human trafficking is hereby established. It shall provide comprehensive care to both regular and irregular migrants who witness or are victims of crimes relating to human trafficking or migrant-smuggling, especially minors, in coordination with the competent authorities ...

Article 83. The National Migration Service shall promote implementation of the following preventive measures:

1.Education and awareness campaigns to prevent people from becoming victims of trafficking in persons or migrant-smuggling, especially minors;

2.National and international cooperation to combat illicit activities;

3.Implementation of measures to prevent sexual exploitation of migrants, especially minors;

4.Exchange of information with State and international bodies for the purpose of identifying individuals or organizations suspected of involvement in the crimes of human trafficking or migrant-smuggling and sexual exploitation of persons;

5.Coordinated action with embassies, consulates and international organizations located in the Republic of Panama for the purpose of returning victims of human trafficking or migrant-smuggling, especially minors, to their country of origin or residence.

The National Migration Service, established by Decree Law No. 3 of 22 February 2008 as part of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, frames new migration policy. The table below gives the figures for migration (not disaggregated by sex).

Migration in figures

Visas	2007	2008	2009 *
Authorized	8 425	9 487	1 424
Refused	3 123	2 791	75 6
Total	11 548	12 278	2 180
*Figures for the first quarter of 2009.
Approved	2007	2008	2009 *
Immigrant visas	3 027	3 427	485
Permanent stay	2 327	1 585	132
Temporary visit	1 650	2 588	204
Extension of visa	508	614	25
Retiree of independent means	94	6 7	10
Tourist pensioner	819	1 011	164
Temporary residence permit	0	191	341
Permanent residen ce permit	0	4	6 3
*Figures for the first quarter of 2009.

Source: National Migration Service.

Migratory movement in Panama, by province, type of movement and sex, and nationality, 2008-2009

	2008		2009
Country	Entries Women	Exits Women		Entries Women	Exits Women
Total	732.203	641.707		281.142	245.409
Argentina	23.242	15.073		10.645	9.248
Canada	22.643	23.724		11.336	9.557
Colombia	111.516	87.195		37.481	34.015
Costa Rica	56.156	49.342		17.231	16.085
Mexico	18.872	15.910		7.327	6.411
Nicaragua	14.005	11.749		6.541	4.715
Panama	138.137	124.428		54.475	48.088
Spain	9.543	9.120		3.579	3.105
United States of America	103.272	102.481		45.480	38.932
Venezuela ( Bolivarian Republic of)	90.840	79.186		29.842	25.914
Other countries	143.976	123.498		57.205	49.339

Note: Updated on 31 July 2009 (preliminary figures).

In pretrial investigations of cases of domestic violence or child abuse, the special family and child affairs offices offer assistance to migrant victims both in Panama and abroad. In both cases, the victims are protected by the pertinent legislation, namely, articles 17, 19 and 56 of the Constitution, Act No. 4 of 1981, Act No. 12 of 1995, the Family Code, Act No. 31 of 1998, and Act No. 38 of 2001 (implementation of protection measures).

The aforementioned provisions ensure recognition of women’s rights. They also recognize their rights as victims, especially of domestic violence. When foreign women in an irregular migrant situation approach the authorities, they are often afraid of divulging the abuse to which they have been subjected. This anxiety can be an obstacle to their receiving the assistance due to them.

It is all too clear from investigations in which the victims are women of a foreign nationality that one way in which the aggressor uses violence and intimidation to keep the woman under his control is precisely by refusing to assist with her regularization. The woman’s fear of deportation, which is exploited by the aggressor, often restricts her access to justice.

Unfortunately, Panama’s legislation on victim protection — unlike that in other countries such as Spain — offers no remedy for this problem.

With regard to migration, the new legislation (arts. 89-93) contains rules on the treatment of women or girls in an irregular migrant situation who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking.

Marriage and family relations

33. Paragraph 178 of the State party ’ s report indicates that the minimum age for marriage is 14 years for girls and 16 years for boys. Please indicate if any measures have been taken to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Please provide information on any measures or initiatives carried out to prevent and eliminate the practice of early marriage.

Panama has no plans to raise the minimum age of marriage for girls, nor have any measures or initiatives been taken to prevent or eliminate the practice of early marriage.