El crimen de persecución por razones de género ¿una deuda en la legislación venezolana?

Venezuela, a State Party to the Rome Statute, was subject to a preliminary examination identified as “Venezuela I” between 2018 and 2021. This examination, conducted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), investigated the alleged occurrence of crimes against humanity within its territory. The preliminary examination was concluded, giving way to a formal investigation that is currently underway. In 2022, the Venezuelan State requested the recusal of the ICC Prosecutor. The Prosecutor responded by requesting the Pre-Trial Chamber to authorize the continuation of the investigation, in accordance with Article 18 of the Statute. In the Prosecutor’s response, it is noted that the State has indicated the absence of a specific criminal offense of persecution in Venezuelan law. This response serves as the basis for this article, which has the general objective of determining whether the crime of persecution on gender grounds is enshrined in the Venezuelan legal system. To this end, domestic legislation, particularly the Organic Law on the Rights of Women to a Life Free of Violence, will be reviewed. Additionally, considerations made by international bodies regarding whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that cases of persecution on gender grounds have occurred in Venezuela will be highlighted. This would justify the importance of incorporating this crime into the catalog of offenses in national legislation.