The founder of the Network for Children, Paula Wachterquestioned the work of Justice in cases of sexual abuse against children and adolescents and assured that “judicial times have nothing to do with the needs of the victims.”
“The judicial process is very difficult and it is very difficult to go through it without a containment and support network. It is a resistance race, not speed. The judicial times do not match the times and needs of the victims,” said the founder of the organization “Network for Children”.
And he added: “But that’s not why you have to give up or kick the board. Many adults that I accompany at some point regret having made the complaint because of the painfulness of the process, that’s why what sustains you is knowing that one acts in good faith and the only thing he seeks is the protection of the children”.
Wachter said that he always gives an example: “If I go to the prosecutor’s office and I report the theft of a car, the prosecutor does not first do an examination to see if I am lying, to see if I distinguish fantasy from reality. And it does not presuppose that I say that I am They stole a car because I want to scam the insurance company. He also doesn’t ask me whether or not I want him to investigate, he understands that he has to investigate and that I’m telling the truth, that’s the starting point.”
“Now, in crimes against sexual integrity it is totally different. The starting point is that the victim and the adult who accompanies her have to show that they are not lying, that they are not crazy, that it is not a plot against the poor aggressor”he explained.
And on this same point, he stated: “It is no coincidence that the same justice system that in all crimes takes between three and four years to issue a sentence, in these cases it takes more than seven.”
The cause that she brought to Justice has already been delayed for 13 years, and in this regard she assured that “they are so slow because the greater the socioeconomic power, the greater the vulnerability of the victims, that is, greater lack of protection of the system, greater asymmetry in the access to Justice”.
“In this particular process there was a removal of a civil judge for impeachment and various components that, when one faces power, has additional adversities,” Wachter explained to Télam.
“Shame has to change paths. It’s not the victim’s fault. It’s not the fault of those who couldn’t avoid the crime. It’s the aggressor’s fault”
When asked about the main problems that they observe in the Justice in these cases, the referent on the subject assured that “the first has to do with the design of the system itself. And the second, with the lack of a gender perspective, of childhood and human rights”.
“The necessary knowledge is not taken into account to be able to understand the nature of this type of crime, which happens behind closed doors, in privacy and which is so complex,” he explained.
In addition, he announced that Red por la Infancia is about to publish the new study “Out of the Shadows 2022”, by The Economist, which measured the response capacity of 60 states that represent 85% of the world’s child population, and Argentina has one of the worst systems of access to Justice for girls and boys victims of abuse in the region and in the world, is ranked 45 out of 60 countries.
“You have a Justice that is not specialized and a system that is divided and fragmented, which multiplies the instances of revictimization instead of reducing them. The processes are long and very arduous. Also that the conviction rate is very low. It is estimated that each 1000 abuses, 100 are denounced and one of those is condemned”he stated.
However, Wachter said that “you always have to denounce, for various reasons. The complaint must be thought of not as a legal act per se, but as a protection tool. I denounce to protect. The system has to condemn the aggressor. And even when a process does not end in a sentence, if it served to protect is important”.
“Shame has to change paths. And that is a social construction, something that we have to make more and more visible. It is not the victim’s fault. It is not the fault of those who could not prevent the crime. It is the aggressor’s fault. So, reporting is an act for the boy or girl tomorrow: not only did I believe you, but the shame is on the other side. The fault is never yours. That is part of the reparation,” he concluded.
November 19 is the World Day for the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of girls, boys and adolescents, one of the most invisible, least reported and rarely convicted crimes, which affects 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 13 boys.
