In recent days, a case of vicarious violence shook the entire country, when the news was released of the father who murdered his little son, only 5 years old, in order to harm his ex-partner and mother of the child. This and many others are the cases that are increasing in the country.
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This is called vicarious violence, which is a type of domestic violence, which is exercised consciously using mistreat a secondary person, to cause harm to another person. This type of violence has been classified as gender violence or violence against women in its highest degree, which consists of instrumentalization and mistreatment of children or any member of the family, and in the worst cases ends with murder.
The unknown of many has been why the family police station only gave protection measures to the mother and not to the childwhen it had already been formally denounced, opening the door for aggressors to commit this type of violence more regularly.
The expert lawyer in Family Law, Jimmy Jiménez, explains that the protection measures must guarantee a timely and comprehensive response to the threat or materialization of violence in the family context.
“That is why when a victim comes to file a complaint, the family police stations must immediately impose a provisional protection measure in favor of the alleged victims, and subsequently evaluate whether the evidence provided and the situation reported requires that the measure of provisional protection is established definitively and covers whoever denounces, but also to their family nucleus or to those who have been victims of acts of violence”explains the expert.
Why, despite several cases of vicarious violence, do the police stations only give protection measures to the mother?
Unfortunately, it is a very common situation since it is not evaluated with a differential and gender approach, as it should be done, and even more so considering that children who are in the midst of a conflict can suffer psychological effects and vicarious violence, therefore they should be covered with the protection measure. Many times the violence is physical and the mistreatment is cruel, and can end in a tragic way, as happened in the case of the father who murdered the 5-year-old minor Gabriel Cubillos.
What is the crime that is imputed to the person who is aware of the criminal act that he is going to carry out?
In the specific case of the parent who murdered his son (violation of the protected legal right, the life of the child)he should be charged with the crime of aggravated homicide, in which several aggravating circumstances concur, for being a crime against a minor and also for being against the descendant (son). According to article 104 of the Penal Code.
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If the victim does not have any type of evidence, be it video, photo, audio or any damage to her skin, but has only received threats, should the police station grant the protection measure or not?
Of course, the police station must impose the provisional protection measure, while the narrated situations are thoroughly evaluated, and ex officio order other means of proof such as psychological evaluations. Additionally, as indicated by Law 2126 of 2022, the actions of the police station must offer an effective response that responds to the context of violence, threat and/or violation of the rights of those who are at risk or are victims of violence in the context family, concludes the lawyer Jimmy Jiménez.
