In Chile, a law penalizes incitement to suicide by women

(Concepción) Antonia Garros threw herself from 13^e floor of a building in the south of Chile after being beaten up for the umpteenth time by her companion. Although the country has since penalized “incitement to female suicide”, it remains difficult to prove the abuse and psychological damage suffered by the victims.

When the young 23-year-old student threw herself out of the window on February 7, 2017 in the town of Concepcion, two police officers, who arrived on site after being alerted to the argument, heard the words that her companion had just shouted to her: “Fucking crazy, throw yourself away! »

He “made her sick”, took her away from her family and friends and plunged her into addictions, assures the mother of the young student, Consuelo Hermosilla.

“He didn’t push her physically, but he still pushed her,” she believes.

On October 13, 2019, Antonia Barra, 21, hanged herself in her house in Temuco, also in the south of the country. Three weeks earlier, the student had been raped after a night out at a nightclub. In tears, she recounted what had happened to her in an audio message sent to her attacker. He will use it to threaten her.

The cases of these two students led to the adoption in 2022 of a law which penalizes “femicide suicide” and “incitement to suicide of women”.

” No solution ”

“The threat of being exposed on the internet broke her […] she didn’t see a solution,” says her father, Alejandro Barra.

In a Chile in the midst of a social explosion and marked by the emergence of feminist collectives, the case of Antonia Barra arouses great emotion.

The trial of his attacker – sentenced to 17 years in prison – was followed by more than a million people on social networks.

Alejandro Barra publicized his daughter’s case and his fight in court resulted in the promulgation in December 2022 of the “Antonia Law”, which penalizes incitement to suicide by women with sentences of up to 10 years. ‘imprisonment.

Until then, in cases like that of Antonia Barra, justice only punished rape.

The new legislation also extends the statute of limitations for crimes of sexual violence against adults, from 5 to 10 years. It prohibits humiliating or degrading interrogations of victims and protects their personal data.

“With this law, the country has moved towards comprehensive legislation to address and punish violence against women, including recognizing the serious consequences that this type of violence has on the lives of victims and the link between mental health and violence “, underlines Antonia Orellana, Minister of Women and Gender Equality.

The Chilean Network Against Violence Against Women counted two forced suicides of women and 48 femicides in 2023.

“Gender violence”

In April, Chile also adopted a law that provides for the granting of pensions to minor children of mothers who are victims of feminicide or driven to suicide. To date, 26 such pensions have been granted in the country.

Women’s rights organizations welcome the introduction of this law, but highlight the difficulties of its implementation, particularly in proving the violence and psychological damage suffered by victims.

“This law is difficult to apply, because it involves recognizing that women commit suicide because of gender violence, and often the officials involved in these processes do not understand this,” assures Priscila Gonzalez, member of the Chilean Network Against Gender Violence. violence against women.

Thus, in the year following the introduction of the law, no case was the subject of an investigation by the public prosecutor.

Two months before ending her life, Antonia Garros filed a complaint for assault. Her partner was not convicted because, not living with her, he could not be prosecuted for domestic violence.

To “obtain justice,” the student’s mother created the “Antonia Foundation,” which is dedicated to supporting “survivors” of domestic violence.

“What interests me is that a violent boy can say: “Yes, I can change, I hurt someone”, or that girls can realize this and ask for help. help,” she said.