Costa Rica Lightens the Punishment on Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse.

More domestic violence has been reported in the northern region of the country, with housewives the main victims as always. The measures taken to try and put an end to this violence has shown no results, or not enough, and women carry on being physically and mentally abused, while the reports for 2007 look pretty grim with 2,188 aggressions in the home, of which 1453 took place in San Carlos; 180 in Los Chiles, 200 in Guatuso and 355 in Upala. In September 2008 the numbers showed that these figures have gone up even further.

According to the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), these numbers show that the majority of the victims are housewives aged between the age of 19 to 45, and it has also showed that the instances took place in equal numbers in the country and the city, as approximately 50% of the aggressions take place in urban areas while the other 50% took place in rural areas. However, taking into account the lower population density in rural areas, the problem can be considered more prevalent there. In the northwestern province of Guanacaste the OIJ reported 25 calls per week from women who had been physically abused, totaling 1300 in one year!

When a woman calls the police about an aggression, she has two options: she can either get a restraining order through a lawyer or make a criminal accusation against the aggressor. Sadly many women to do not file a complaint or if they do, they do not follow through with the court date to see that the defendant is judged by the Costa Rica law. Some do not understand the law or how it works, others simply cannot afford to take the time and money to travel to the appropriate location, and others do not have faith in the judicial system, as it has so often proven that although laws there may be, action is often slow, or not taken at all. The women who do not follow through with their accusation help lead to the backup of cases that must be filed whether they show up or not.

Now sadly, the law has been changed, and the six month to two years prison sentence given for domestic “mistreatment” or mental cruelty (often in the form of death threats or name calling) toward women has been deemed unconstitutional. Only in cases where the woman suffers physical abuse to the extent that a forensic specialist deems her incapacitated (unable to work or perform normal daily activities) for five days or longer, is the abuse considered a criminal offense punishable by a jail sentence. These cases will still be brought to the OIJ to be tried.

In cases where the woman is either verbally abused or her physical wounds only leave her incapacitated for 4 and a half days or less, the case must be brought before a non-criminal court, and the only retribution is a determined fee to be paid by the aggressor.

Officials in the General Prosecutor’s office (Fiscalía) who must turn away women because their cases are no longer considered to be criminal offenses, are instructed to advise the women about the National Institute for Women (Inamu) in the hope that they can provide emotional or legal help.

It did not take long for this declaration to give way to a chain of reactions; Jeanette Carrillo Madrigal, president of Inamu, deeply regrets this decision because it suggests that a certain amount of aggression within the home is indeed tolerated, or even acceptable. She also points out that 71% of the reports to the police by domestic violence victims are related to some kind of “minor” mistreatment or mental abuse. Changing the present law could put this 71% in great danger for continued abuse, which could give way to escalated abuse before the government will take action.

It is unknown why so many men mentally and physically attack their companions. In many cases machismo and lack of education are blamed, or is it caused by some kind of psychological or mental problem or by too much stress? The original laws hoped to spread the message that abusing women was unacceptable, outlawed and heavily punished in this country, but getting rid of it seems quite backwards.

Women should be more educated and made aware of their rights, it is absolutely possible that in some isolated communities, they still live in fear of the rage of men and are too scared to proceed and find protection, and with so little faith in the law, they let it pass and get hurt again, and again. The laws in this country really need to be seen as more than a menace but enforced by a capable police force and judicial system. Men should receive education as to how to treat women, and maybe repeat culprits should receive some kind of psychiatric treatment too, but doing nothing is not going to help.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on October 17th, 2008