Letters to the Editor: Protecting Childhood and Trust in Justice

Original article: Cartas al Director: La protección de la infancia y la confianza en la justicia

Dear Editor:

The other day, I was walking home with my six-year-old sister when we encountered two strangers. Although their intentions seemed harmless, their smiles made me uneasy, prompting me to pull my sister closer as I quickened my pace.

At seventeen years old, this is not the only situation of insecurity I have experienced due to the constant fear of violence.

This persistent fear makes it even more infuriating to learn that 56 leniencies have been granted to offenders convicted of child abuse and sexual assault.

While countless girls, boys, adolescents, and women live in fear, the State seems to send a message of leniency towards those who have shattered the safety and childhood of their victims.

I know many women who feel unsafe going out, leaving their children in the care of unknown individuals, or simply trusting that justice will do its job. Therefore, it is impossible not to question what message the State sends when such decisions come to light.

For years, we have heard slogans like ‘we don’t play with our children,’ but these words lose their power when measures are taken that benefit those who threaten them.

If the Government’s primary responsibility is to protect the most vulnerable, how can it expect the trust of its citizens when the sentences of child abusers and rapists are reduced?

What protection are we talking about if, even after being convicted, they receive benefits that victims will never have to repair the harm done?

Because when the State reduces the sentences of those who have committed these crimes, it not only cuts years off their prison terms but also erodes the trust of a society that expects, at the very least in these cases, that justice will be on the right side.

Dayana Jara, student.