Colombia’s Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower court’s decision to acquit a man who had beaten his sister. Instead, the court ruled violence against women can never be treated as a misdemeanor.
In its ruling the court said that to catalog any act of violence against women as a “trifle offense” and to let the perpetrators go unpunished goes against the law and against the victim.
“In this particular case the protection of the victim must be higher because the victims is a woman who by natural circumstances is physically at a disadvantage in relation to a man,” said the judge.
The case was appealed after a Cartagena court acquitted the man, ruling that the woman’s injuries were not sufficient to impose a sentence for personal injury, despite the fact she was given five days disability because of the marks on her face.
The incident occurred in 2006 when the woman was accosted by her brother at a funeral and accused of making threats. The argument ended in the man beating his sister on the face and chest.
The judge said that judicial decisions in Colombia must take into account the protection of victims in situations that involve human dignity, as required by the Constitution and international treaties that Colombia has subscribed to.
According to Congresswoman Angela Robledo, violence against women is a big problem in Colombia and must be dealt with sternly. “During 2011 1,415 women were killed in this country … and over one third of Colombian women have been assaulted by their partner,” the representative told Colombia Reports.
“The law must be supported and promoted by the government,” insisted Robledo. “Now the government should assume in all its dimensions the seriousness of crimes against women.”
The ruling said that “in accordance with the forensic report … the blows inflicted without justification resulted in the defendant taking five days of disability, a result that in the opinion of the board cannot be summed up as ridiculous or insignificant.”
The man was condemned to a year in prison, but considering he had no previous convictions and the injuries did not have lasting effects on his sister, the Court granted his release.
Sources
- Interview with Congresswoman Angela Robledo