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Reseña:
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This presentation deals with Puerto Rican Law 54, which was enacted on August 15 1989 in order toprovide real alternatives for the victims of physical, sexual or emotional abuse. The law was created inrecognition of the fact that: “domestic violence is one of the most serious and complex problemsconfronting our society and there is a need to address the issue of domestic violence, particularly in thecase of women and children who are abused, in order to preserve their physical and emotional integrity,secure their safety and save their lives.” Law 54 presents strategies for dealing with these problemsfrom a criminal and punitive point of view. The success of the law has, however, been limited due tothe magnitude of the problem, and the longstanding cultural, historical, judicial and religious obstaclesto effectively dealing with this issue. These include a tendency to minimize and trivialize concerns overdomestic violence; resistance to different components of the system in the conceptualization ofdomestic violence as a crime; attorneys’ negative attitude towards the law; and the fact that the systemgives women little credibility in these types of cases.There are also problems associated with the implementation of this law. The author argues that there isa lack of tools and support services for victims of domestic violence and that some officials mistakenlyadopt conciliatory positions while others choose not to provide adequate interpretations of the law’sstatutes. An additional problem is judges’ failure to consider the possibility of a history of domesticviolence in the cases that they hear.In response to these challenges, the advisory Committee on Gender and Equality has maderecommendations for improving the judicial system and ensuring that the law is applied withoutdiscrimination and that it will effectively combat violence against women. Some of the responsesobserved include an effort to intensify education and sensitivity about the cycle of domestic violence, amove to develop tools for guiding victims, the development of uniform internal norms for judicialprocedures and support resources, a study of the viability of special courtrooms, and the developmentof shelters and victims’ aid programs for retraining and reeducating aggressors.The presentation offers statistical information and makes reference to data bases on domestic violencecases and restraining orders issued in Puerto Rico between 1991 and 2003. Finally, it presentsrecommendations regarding responses to the above-mentioned problems, including the creation of aNational Commission on the Eradication of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking and DateRape. |
