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Good practice Imported

Puerto Rico's 2021 State of Emergency on Gender-Based Violence

Puerto Rico · San Juan · See the Puerto Rico profile · See the San Juan profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 67% 52/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Facing a 62% rise in gender-violence deaths, Puerto Rico's governor declared a state of emergency in January 2021, unlocking $7M in funding, a victim-alert app and new police protocols — but the advisory committee lapsed in 2022 and femicides continued through 2023.

62% increase
Rise in gender-violence deaths (2019 to 2020) (2019–2020)
5,517
Domestic-violence victims logged by police (2020)
$7 million USD
Dedicated funding approved for emergency response measures (2021)
72 femicides (65 direct)
Femicides recorded (2023)

Details

Maturity
Discontinued
Promoter
Government of Puerto Rico — Office of the Governor / Comité PARE
Period
January 2021–June 2022 (declared); response measures ongoing
Keywords
public safety, gender-based violence, government, victim services

Context

In 2020, Puerto Rico recorded 60 murders linked to gender violence, a 62% increase over 2019, and police logged 5,517 domestic-violence victims; a 2019 report from local advocacy groups found that on average one woman was killed every seven days on the island.

Objectives

Facing this surge, Puerto Rico's governor sought to trigger a rapid, cross-agency government response to gender-based violence through a formal state-of-emergency declaration.

Activities

On 25 January 2021, Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency for gender violence. It created an inter-agency advisory committee (Comité PARE), a mobile panic-button and reporting app, a new Department of Education curriculum on gender violence, updated training for prosecutors, and revised police protocols for domestic-violence calls and femicide investigations. Several months after the declaration, Puerto Rico's Financial Oversight and Management Board approved $7 million in dedicated funding for these measures.

Results

The state of emergency expired on 30 June 2022 and was not renewed. The Comité PARE advisory council stopped meeting as an advisory body by August 2022, although a compliance officer remained in post. Femicide reporting stayed high afterward: the Puerto Rico outlet Pasquines counted 72 femicides in 2023 (65 of them direct femicides), and advocates such as the nonprofit Taller Salud described a persistent 'long-term crisis' compounded by inconsistent government follow-through.

Conclusions

The case illustrates both the value and the limits of emergency-declaration tools for gender-based violence: rapid political recognition and initial funding, but weak institutional continuity once the formal emergency period ended.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — $7 million approved by the Financial Oversight and Management Board, released several months after the January 2021 declaration.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — State of emergency declared 25 January 2021; expired 30 June 2022 without renewal; advisory committee ceased functioning as an advisory body by August 2022.
Staffing & skills
Implemented via gubernatorial executive order under the Office of the Governor, coordinated through an inter-agency advisory committee (Comité PARE) with a compliance officer role that persisted after the committee stopped meeting as an advisory body.

Conditions for success

  • Dedicated funding ($7M) approved by the Financial Oversight and Management Board to support new protocols, an app, curriculum and training.
  • Cross-agency scope covering police, prosecutors, Department of Education and social services.

Common failure modes

  • Funding was approved only several months after the declaration, delaying implementation.
  • The state of emergency was allowed to expire on 30 June 2022 without renewal, and the advisory committee stopped meeting as an advisory body by August 2022, undermining institutional continuity.
  • Femicide reporting remained high after the emergency period ended, with no clear evidence the declaration reduced gender-based violence.

Where it fits

Governance type
executive order / territorial government
Scale
territory-wide (Puerto Rico)
Income level
high-income (US territory)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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