Domestic Violence in Puerto Rico

Aquí presento un discurso que preparé para mi clase de Public Speaking, que pongo a disposición de todos. Espero traducirlo pronto y presentarlo, si Dios quiere, en la presentación de LO QUE NO DIJE, en mayo.

Domestic Violence in Puerto Rico

It’s time to know. Most college students are in a relationship, or they are looking for one. In this University, two years ago a student that had a protection order finished, had to face the look of her aggressor. She was scared of what could happen, he studied here but she wanted to be the best she could be. She started a relationship when she was 14, that lasted two years that ended in court, but some women end up dead.

Domestic violence is an aggressive behavior that includes physical (and/or) emotional damage, from one person in a relation to another. Between 1900 and 1996; 11,450 victims of domestic violence reported to the police, were less than 20 years old. The Police of Puerto Rico established on December 31 of 2005, that in that year 19,317 were reported.

How does domestic violence occur? Even though the criminal process is called like that, in young people it’s name dating violence; mostly because young women don’t live with their partners. They are three types of violence in a relationship: physical, emotional and sexual. I have to mention that the reason that campaigns are for women, it’s because 98% of reported cases of violence are to women. Only 2% occurs to men in Puerto Rico and 1% occurs from the father or partner of the women to her sons that are grown up.

Violence to women it’s not mostly physical as many people think. This is something cultural, because you can notice browses more than emotional damage. The physical damage includes pushing, kicking, pulling hair, bites, punches and others like throwing stuff to hurt. One of the offices of Puerto Rico, Peace for Women Commission reported in June on there magazine Voice of Voices that is 94% of physical abuse wouldn’t happen if there were no emotional abuse.

Emotionally abuse is silenced under cultural beliefs. Most Puerto Ricans have been educated to form what is considered a traditional relationship; one that seems acceptable jealousy as a way of protection. The Women Office of Puerto Rico established in 2001 that emotionally abused is based on control. Violent partners limit their freedom by establishing whom should she talk, how to dress, where to go. This includes looks, a threat, and manipulative talks that he uses to prove that he is right, that if she loves him she could do those sacrifices.

How does sexual abuse occur? If I could give an idea to Internationa Amnesty it would be a campaign that could say: “A headache in their case it’s not an excuse”. Sexual abuse in a relationship happens when the aggressor rapes her but uses to emotionally abuse using questions as: why not? It’s not considered a rape because there is a relationship established. Policemen say that this is the least women report and sometimes they don’t report it because they fear the exams. We are talking about the victims but how can we detect an aggressor?

There is no definition of aggressor’s characteristics beyond their actions and conducts. They come at any age, race, social status, sexual orientation and religion. By the cases reported to the Police in the past three years, the Women Office established some signals. If he is extremely jealous, blame other people for their actions, brake objects, have a control conduct, use physical violence as games on sexual relationships, change their temper easily, you may be near an aggressor or possible one.

In the Penal Code, there is only two laws that provide protection, Law 54 and the Law 284. Law 54 applies only if you have sexual relationships. That is why this law doesn’t protect to much young people, unless they are sexually active and prove that, wish is kind of hard if the abuse is emotional only. The law 284 restricts the aggressor to follow or harass women on their jobs or houses. This is what most people call a protection order that makes a criminal accusation on the man, if they don’t follow it, they could be arrested. This law protects the victim for a year, and you have to prove more harassment to make it longer. Most women are afraid to ask for law protection because they have to face their aggressors on court and they expect more violence after the case, if they don’t prevail.

Domestic violence in Puerto Rico, it’s higher that other countries that triple our size. In France 6 women die a month in hands of their husbands or partners. International Amnesty reports that in Africa 1 women dies every six hours. Statistics show the social problems that this brings to our country. Most of you have maybe heard of a case of domestic violence or know a victim or an abuser. Information gives us ways of fighting it or prevents it in a future relationship. Think, that women could be the one at your side, someone you love, it could be you, like a while ago it was me.

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