H Chile is affected by a large number of female homicides, as in almost all Latin American countries. Indicatively, from 2005 until the end of 2010, 371 women were murdered. However, on December 14, 2010, Law 20.066 of the Penal Code, which concerned domestic violence, was amended, introducing the term "gynecology». According to the new law, approved by the national congress and defined as law 20.048 "Law against Feminicide", as "feminicide" was defined as homicide against the woman by her current or ex-husband / partner, with prison sentences of 15 years up to life imprisonment. Specifically, the law provided that if a man killed a woman who is or was the spouse / partner with whom he lived or had a child, he would be punished with the maximum sentence of imprisonment, ie from 15 years and one day up to 20 years, or even a special life sentence, the maximum sentence in Chile, that allows the request for release after 40 years of actual deprivation of liberty. Another provision of the law is that the penalties for a rapist be increased in case the criminal acts intentionally and with deceit or two or more perpetrators are involved.
Another important point covered by this law is that the Family Court is empowered and in charge of taking all necessary precautionary measures to effectively protect victims of domestic violence. This is true even before the case is referred to the Public Ministry (for Greece in the Prosecutor's Office), thus creating security conditions for one of the most dangerous periods for victims of domestic violence.
Despite the enactment of this law, however, a shocking event takes place on the morning of 12th June 2018 which will play a catalytic role in the revision of the law. Chile is shocked by the news of the murder of 17-year-old Gabriela Alcaino and her 53-year-old mother. The bodies of the two women were found in their home, where they had been killed by 18-year-old Fabian Caceres, Gabriela's ex-partner, who could not accept the end of their relationship and had repeatedly threatened her. However, according to the law in force until In 2018, this event was not considered homicide, as the two did not coexist under the same roof. Until then, the law required the victim to be the current or ex-spouse / partner of the perpetrator with whom he or she lived. Due to this shocking event, the Chilean people took to the streets marching and demanding the amendment and extension of law 20.048 for such cases.
In memory of Gabriela and in the presidency of Sebastian Pinera in 2020, Law 20.048, was amended to law 21.212 and renamed "Gabriel Law". Under the new law, prison sentences of up to 15 years and one day up to life imprisonment are maintained, but new sentences are introduced for cases of homicide due to gender, homicide for personal relationships (eg a couple without cohabitation) and also a number of from aggravating cases that increase the penalties such as: in cases where the victim is pregnant, minor, disabled, and also when the crime takes place in the presence of the victim's parents or children. In addition, if a man rapes a woman before killing her, this crime will be recognized as rape by murder.
With the enactment of the "Gabriel Law", the sentence of special life imprisonment with deprivation of the right to request release from prison 40 years ago, is now provided for the man who kills a woman with whom he had an emotional or sexual relationship but never had cohabit. Finally, under the new law, a man who kills a woman because of his sex is punished with imprisonment to the maximum (from 15 years and one day to 20 years) or even with a special life sentence, which provides for the right to request release from prison after 20 years of actual deprivation of liberty.
photo https://pixabay.com/el/
