The country of Chile has been traditionally known as a society where “maschismo” does much to promote gender roles as well as inequality. A 2010 IPS report concluded that 60 per cent of Chileans did not believe in gender equality, while 18 per cent considered themselves “machista,” who believe in the idea that women are inferior, in the previous year’s study. Before the turn of the last century, domestic violence was only considered under civil law and far from criminal legislation, while marital rape was not a crime and femicide was labelled as a crime of passion. In the 1990s, Chile signed the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Violence (CEDAW) and by 2005, it enforced a new law that required all public institutions to respond and protect every victim of abuse. In 2007, Chile began discussions to modify its criminal justice system to recognize the significance of violence against women. With increased pressure from the National Women’s Service (SERNAM), who publicized acts of femicide through local press, the country enacted Law 20480 in 2010. Under this new legislation, the Chilean government now views femicide as an offensive crime, punishable under Article 290 by the penal code, and works to provide women more legal protection from all forms of abuse...
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:41:50 +0000
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