Chile is the second country in Latin America with the highest rate of female prison population, only surpassed by French Guiana, representing 8% of the 55,751 people deprived of liberty. The turning point in the sustained increase occurred in 2020. Since then, the number of women in prison has increased by 56% to reach 4,464 in May of this year, a record number in the last 13 years, according to the data provided to EL PAÍS by the Ministry of Justice. “The situation of deprivation of liberty is increasing everywhere in the world, but in the case of women in Chile it is significantly higher than anywhere else,” said the Minister of Justice of the Government of Gabriel Boric, Luis, by telephone this Wednesday. Lamb.
People in preventive detention have almost doubled in the last 10 years, reaching 20,704, which translates into 36.5% of the prison population. Of the 4,464 women imprisoned as of May 31, 47.2% are in preventive detention. Those deprived of liberty are on average 35 years old, the vast majority are mothers and heads of household and one in four are foreigners. More than half ended up in jail for a crime related to the drug law (56% of convicted women and 63% of those charged), followed by robbery. “Women are usually the ones who transport drugs or guard them. The relationship between women, crime and prison is closely linked to the type of crime that generates income for their family. That is why they are usually repeat offenders,” says Minister Cordero, who highlights the complexity of the matter since, since they are not leaders of gangs or organizations, a woman can be put in jail, but the criminal activity she carried out will be committed by another. .
How is this shot explained in the figures? Cordero points out two key factors: the rules related to drug crimes – the most prevalent among women deprived of liberty – have become more rigid in recent years and, due to a legislative reform that prevents the expulsion of foreign detainees, the population of foreign women has increased significantly. This new scenario can be seen especially in the northern part of the country, for example, in Alto Hospicio. 25% of the inmates today are foreigners: 54% Bolivian, Venezuelan (19%) and Colombian (14%). Almost half (45%) are located in the northern region of Tarapacá and only 20% in the Metropolitan region of Santiago.
In 2010, the foreign population deprived of liberty in Chile was 4.8%. Today it represents 14.7%. In just 24 months it has increased more than 100%. “It is a very, very high number and the male population is very prevalent at that time. The prevalent nationalities are Colombians and Venezuelans,” says Minister Cordero. “Incarcerations viewed simply as rigidity and increased penalties, without prospection, at the end of the day is a self-deception in terms of security. If you want security in the long term, you will try to reduce crimes and, consequently, reduce recidivism,” he adds.
Chile is the sixth country with the highest rate of people deprived of liberty in Latin America. The increase in people deprived of liberty has been driven mainly by men, but the Secretary of State places emphasis on the increase in women because he considers that the impact it has “is brutal.” He explains that women are the group of the prison population that receives the fewest visits and their partner regularly abandons them. Furthermore, when they have children under two years old, they are in jail with them. When their children are older, many prevent them from visiting them so that they do not get used to the prison context. “The situation of a woman deprived of liberty has very, very large multiplier effects on her family group. And also in society because when they leave, they not only have to see how to reintegrate themselves, but also how to get their children back.”
The dimension of the impact that a woman deprived of liberty has, says Cordero, is not being considered, nor is the effect of rigidifying laws such as drug laws. A reform to the Immigration Law a couple of years ago prohibited foreigners convicted of violating the Drug Law from accessing the alternative penalty of expulsion from the country. The Boric Government today seeks to reverse this measure in cases where the sentence is less than five years and one day. 34% of women are serving a sentence of five to 10 years, 29% three to five years and 15% 10 to 15 years.
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