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Costa Rica: Update to CRI28961.E of 27 February 1998 on the Law Against Domestic Violence, including victims' awareness of it; whether they are more reluctant or willing to report incidents of domestic violence; whether authorities resist applying it; and the extent to which it applies to a female victim who lives separately from her male aggressor

While two La Nación reports and the annual report of the Ombudsman's Office (Defensoría de los Habitantes) refer to Costa Rican officials making efforts to curb the problem of domestic violence and to fulfil the provisions outlined in the Law Against Domestic Violence (Ley contra la Violencia Doméstica) (3 Feb. 1999; 15 July 1999), four other La Nación reports and a Tico Times report state that this law is not doing enough to counter the problem (ibid. 14 May 1999; ibid. 6 June 1999; ibid. 6 Aug. 1999; ibid. 1 Oct. 1999; The Tico Times 10 Nov. 1999).

With reference to government action, the Ombudsman's Office reported in Section C of its May 1997 to April 1998 annual report that, to improve the application of the Law Against Domestic Violence and to ensure a better interpretation of its provisions, a commission of government and non-governmental organizations was established (1998). Its primary objective was to assess the impact of this law regarding the defence of women's rights (ibid.). One of the projects of the commission was to review the law so as to ensure that it reflects current application practices. If approved by the Plenary Court, the recommendations of the commission would ensure a better application of the law and as a result, provide better protection to victims of domestic violence. The Ombudsman observed that the application of this law by officials of the various judicial institutions had, by default, not respected the terms nor the deadlines set by the law which affected due process and the rights of the respective parties (ibid.).

In February 1999, the Government Council (Consejo de Gobierno) agreed, by way of executive power accords, to make a special request to the police to guarantee the effective fulfilment of the law, and to ensure a speedy response to female victims of violence who had requested assistance and protection (La Nación 3 Feb. 1999).

In July 1999, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Luis Paulino Mora, and the Minster of Public Security, Juan Rafael Lizano, committed themselves to carrying out the necessary measures to combat domestic violence (ibid. 15 July 1999). The high-ranking officials made the commitment after hearing pleas for greater attention to the issue by the Minister of Women's Affairs (Condición de la Mujer), Gloria Valerín (ibid.). They agreed with her that many cases of violence against women occurred following verdicts or judgements made by the courts or police when applying the Law Against Domestic Violence (ibid.). Valerín's request for improved support from the institutions of the judicial power and other state institutions coincided with the sixth homicide of a woman at the hands of an abusive spouse or partner in two months (ibid.). In the same report, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice stated that within the budget, the need to train staff of the Family Courts (Juzgados de Familia) in domestic violence matters would be taken into account, especially in those offices located in areas where a high incidence of domestic violence occurs. He also stated that the possibility existed to allocate more physical space to the courts to allow for teams of psychologists and social workers to do their work in serving the needs of the victims. For his part, the Minister of Public Security recognized that police made errors when applying the Law Against Domestic Violence, but blamed these errors on ignorance of the law rather than lack of respect for it (ibid.). He added that this problem is being resolved by means of sensitization courses in the National School of Police (Escuela Nacional de Policía).

In reference to other initiatives to fight domestic violence in Costa Rica, La Nación reported in May 1999 that a group of organizations had been formed to work on a bill that would consider some patterns of domestic violence as a crime under the Penal Code (14 May 1999). According to the statistics compiled by the Women's Delegation (Delegación de la Mujer), more than 50 per cent of the complaints made by women between 1994 and 1997 were because of psychological and physical abuse (ibid.). The bill remained in its infancy because the aggressions to be punishable had yet to be determined and timelines to present the bill before the Legislative Assembly needed to be defined (idid.). Ligia Martín, defender of women rights at the Ombudsman's Office is cited in the report as saying that the current domestic violence legislation presents "much unevenness" (muchos altibajos) and that domestic violence should be considered a crime. She further stated that the Law Against Domestic Violence should not be thrown out, but that it had shown that it was insufficient to stop the increase in domestic violence as evidenced by the increased number of complaints made by abused women (ibid.; The Tico Times 6 Aug. 1999).

La Nación reported in October 1999 that Costa Rican president, Miguel Angel Rodríguez, had promised to send the above-mentioned bill, characterizing domestic violence as a crime in the Penal Code, to the Legislative Assembly on 25 November 1999 (1 Oct. 1999). Referring to the Law Against Domestic Violence, the Minister of Women's Affairs, Gloria Valerín, is cited as saying that some obstacles (algunos inconvenientes) in its application had arisen, such as the saturation of judicial offices by the number of domestic violence cases, and the lack of human and economic resources despite the increase in work the application of the law had implied (ibid.). Other obstacles to the application of the law, according to Valerín, include the prejudiced and sexist attitudes of many judicial officials at all government levels when interpreting the issues and applying protection measures, despite the efforts to train and sensitize these officials; furthermore, there is also reluctance by the authorities to apply some specific provisions of the law, such as prohibiting the offender from returning to the household and unwillingness to accept medical or psychological opinions by social security officials (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social) (ibid.).

Valerín states in the same La Nación report that police response to incidents of domestic violence is "limited" (escasa) or "useless" (nula), and that frequently, officers ignore judges' orders or respond to them only partially or too late (ibid.). To illustrate the problem of police unresponsiveness, Valerín provides the example of a woman who, after several attempts to seek assistance from judicial institutions, had been stabbed and killed by her ex-husband at a public bus stop in the summer of 1999. In another La Nación report, Francisco Ruiz, spokesperson for the Judicial Investigations Body (Organismo de Investigación Judicial, OIJ), stated that many police officers are ignorant of the fact that the Law Against Domestic Violence mandates them to intervene in cases of domestic violence (10 Nov. 1999). He further stated that the OIJ, as well as the Public Ministry and Security portfolios, have undertaken training programs in matters of domestic violence (ibid.).

Like Valerín's concerns regarding the effectiveness of the Law Against Domestic Violence, there appears to be a consensus among some of those in Costa Rican society who work for women's rights, namely the National Women's Institute  (Instituto Nacional de la Mujer), Family Courts (Juzgados de Familia) and members of the Public Forces (Fuerza Pública) that the existing tools are not sufficient to protect victims and even less to stop domestic violence from destroying lives and homes (La Nación 6 June 1999). Similarly, the Office of Women's Affairs at the Ombudsman's Office is of the opinion that the protection measures outlined in the Law Against Domestic Violence are insufficient to protect victims of domestic violence (La Nación 10 Nov. 1999). For example, often these protection measures, such as barring the aggressor from the household where the domestic violence has taken place or stripping him of child custody, are not respected by the perpetrators of the violence (ibid.).

The 6 June 1999 report of La Nación provides more information on the challenges involved to lodge a domestic violence complaint in Costa Rica.

Family Judge Gilda Morales of the Judicial First Circuit of San José explained that each time the Family Courts receive complaints of domestic violence, the Law Against Domestic Violence obliges them to give the benefit of the doubt to the victim and to issue immediate protection measures despite not having proof of violation against the alleged aggressor (ibid.; The Tico Times 6 Aug. 1999). Once the complaint has been filed with a Family Court, the Public Force (Fuerza Pública) must notify the alleged aggressor and if necessary, evacuate him from the household. If the aggressor disobeys this order at any time, he can be charged with disobeying the authorities. Usually, both parties, the victim and aggressor, will meet in a hearing room one or two months following the complaint and will provide their respective versions of the facts. It is in this hearing room where the judge will rule whether or not to keep the protection measure in force.

Although the procedures to make a complaint for domestic violence appear simple and straightforward, each step is complex. For example, frequently neither the victim nor the aggressor will attend the hearing. In these cases, the protection measure issued to the victim will have no effect. The report does not elaborate on the reasons why the protection measure will have no effect. According to Judith Salas of the Women's Delegation, some women do not appear at their hearing because they have reconciled with their spouses or partners for the sake of their children or for reasons of economic or psychological dependence. Ana Hidalgo of the National Women's Institute added that another reason for women not attending their own hearing can be attributed to the lack of understanding of what it entails. Furthermore, according to Hidalgo, some judges or judicial officials are ill prepared to deal with domestic violence issues and insist that separate judicial offices be set up for dealing with them.

Another challenge in dealing with domestic violence cases in the country is the discrepancy that exists in the training of officials. For example, Public Security (Seguridad Pública) officials in the metropolitan area of San José have received training with regard to domestic violence cases, whereas the authorities in the provinces remain unaware of their obligations in applying the law.

The following is provided in a 6 August 1999 Tico Times report.

In light of the 14 homicides of women who had been killed by their spouses, partners, or former partners in 1999, the Minister of Women's Affairs, Gloria Valerín, characterized domestic violence as a "'national epidemic'." Valerín added that on average, 2.3 women are killed every month in Costa Rica. With regard to these statistics, Giselle Molina, representative of the National Women's Institute's program against domestic violence (PLANOVI) stated that:

I believe domestic violence is not increasing in Costa Rica, it's always been an extremely high level. The only difference is that now the press is covering it more, because so many women are being killed…[and while] the public is getting more sensitized to domestic violence…the police still fail to give women's complaints proper credibility.

Another issue regarding police responsiveness to cases of domestic violence, according to the director of the National University program "Constructing a Life without Violence," Carmen Ulate, is that "police officers themselves are aggressors, and often side with perpetrators."

In October 1999, La Nación reported that in the year's first trimester, 6,346 cases of domestic violence were submitted before the courts in Costa Rica (31 Oct. 1999). At the end of August 1999, one man had been convicted and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for killing his wife (ibid. 31 Aug. 1999). This was the first of the 11 registered homicides caused by domestic violence in 1999 to be sentenced this year (ibid.).

While not referring directly to the Law Against Domestic Violence, according to Valerín and to sociologist, José Carlos Chinchilla, women are becoming more aware that situations of domestic violence occur daily and have found venues through which they raise their concerns (La Nación 10 Nov. 1999).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Defensoría de los Habitantes. 1998. Informe Anual Mayo de 1997 a Abril de 1998. <http://www.nacion.co.cr/ln_ee/defensoria/1998/hosti.html>. [Accessed on 4 Nov. 1999]

La Nación [San José]. 10 November 1999. Montserrat Solano C. "Agresión golpea a más mujeres." <http://www.co.cr/ln_ee/1999/noviembre/10/pais1.html> [Accessed on 12 Nov. 1999]

_____. 31 October 1999. Wílliam Méndez Garita. "Solo en el primer trimestre de 1999: 191,642 casos ante jueces." <http://www.nacion.co.cr/ ln_ee/1999/octubre/31/pais4.html> [Accessed on 3 Nov. 1999]

_____. 1 October 1999. Thaís Aguilar. "Albergue para mujeres felices." <http://www. nacion.co.cr/viva/1999/octubre/01/portada.html> [Accessed on 3 Nov. 1999]

_____. 31 August 1999. Irene Vizcaíno. "Condenado por matar a esposa." <http://www.nacion.co.cr/ln_ee/1999/agosto/31/pais11.html> [Accessed on 3 Nov. 1999]

_____. 15 July 1999. Irene Vizcaíno. "Más acción por violencia doméstica." <http://www.nacion.co.cr/ln_ee/1999/julio/15/pais15.html> [Accessed on 3 Nov. 1999]

_____. 6 June 1999. Irene Vizcaíno. "Agresión doméstica…la ley no basta." <http://www.nacion.co.cr/ln_ee/1999/junio/06/pais1.html> [Accessed on 3 Nov. 1999]

_____. 14 May 1999. Hazel Barahona G. "Pretenden penar agresión doméstica." <http://www.nacion.co.cr/ln_ee/1999/mayo/14/pais12.html> [Accessed on 3 Nov. 1999]

_____. 3 February 1999. "Miércoles 3 de febrero 1998 [sic]: Acuerdos del Poder Ejecutivo." <http://www.nacion.co.cr/ln_ee/1999/febrero/03/gaceta.html> [Accessed on 3 Nov. 1999]

The Tico Times [San José]. 6 August 1999. Christie Pashby. "Domestic Violence Called 'Epidemic'." (Central America NewsPak [Austin], Vol. 14, No. 12, 2 Aug.-15 Aug. 1999, 3)

Additional Sources Consulted

Boletín Red Contra la Violencia [Santiago]. 1998-1999.

Central America Report [Guatemala]. 1998-1999.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1998-1999.

Women's Watch [Minneapolis]. 1998-1999.

Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, REFWORLD, LEXIS/NEXIS, WNC, Internet.

Topics: Domestic Violence, Violence against women, SGBV,