Decriminalization of incest: The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare criticized the proposal because it could affect adolescents

At extraordinary sessions at Congress of the Republicwho called the national governmentthe first initiatives to take root were the National Development Plan and the project of humanization of prison policy. The second in mention, although it is not the biggest project for the executive, he was the first to receive an urgent message, so that his process could be accelerated and he could be admitted to the most fast.

Despite the intention of the President’s government Petro to promote and endorse the initiative, the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, expressed concern about some sections. During the hearing before the House of Representativesthe delegate Maria Mercedes Lopez He assured that there are two points that affect the purpose of the entity.

“The first of these is the criminal offense of incest, which they claim only regulates ‘consensual’ conduct and only applies to adults, which is not true. The commission of this crime can also affect adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17, who are in full growth and sexual formation,” adds the delegate.

The points are two types of current crimes that the project wants to designate, to orient itself in favor of a prison policy that is more restorative than punitive. Regarding the first crime, the official mentioned, “Thinking he’s going to be discriminated against, he leaves it open, unprotected, and we’re talking about minors who need superior constitutional protection.”

Another of the elements he questioned was the issue of consent regarding cases of incest. “There are cases of apparent consent, but which are actually the product of hidden forms of abuse, and which are rightly prevented by criminal offenses such as incest. How could one say that the relationship of a teenager with his grandfather or with his father is consensual? Figures that play a very important role in the growth of the human being, especially of authority”.

He also referred to the question of whether the punitive nature of the practice of incestsince this would have a representative effect on the intention to combat prison overcrowding. “Currently, with the deadline of September 22, 2022, in the prisons of our country, we have only 25 citizens convicted of this crime. Could it be that 25 people outside the prison have a positive impact on prison decongestion?raised Maria Mercedes Lopez.

The second concern of ICBFis related to the decriminalization of the crime of alimony, which focuses on not giving food to those who by law have this right, “Of those who are, children, spouse, parents, grandchildren, siblings.” In this regard, the delegate indicated that “it is one of the tools that is on the agenda for our defenders of the family, when it comes to advancing the processes of restoring rights”.

Before the intervention of Colombian Institute of Family Welfarethe Ministry of the Interior alphonse prada defended the project and responded to criticism related to the declassification of crimes. “Not penalizing them, not characterizing them with an intramural punitive consequence, does not mean that we reinforce the task of this conduct. For nothing”, testified at the hearing.

At the end of this point of listening, from the public hearings convened by different sectors, the project will move on to its first debate. As presented with an urgent message, the first discussion will take place jointly between the First order of Camera and the Senate of the Republic. After this process, it will go to the plenary session.

The generated proposal mentions that: “The legal good whose protection is intended to be protected is the family or, in other words, the idea of ​​a family formed in accordance with legal norms and following the idea of ​​a public morality which includes the law. “

In this sense, it is understood that the idea of ​​family that defines the sentence is twofold, since on the one hand it is intended that those who are already parents cannot have sexual relations and on the other hand, that those who are going to form a family or are going to enter into romantic sexual relations, are not relatives.

For this reason, the Justice Portfolio considered whether criminal law was the least effective way to discourage this practice and send the message that this type of behavior is not accepted by society.

Regarding the legal initiative, the Minister Nelson Osuna I’m speaking with magazine of the week and safely. “I know that morally it can be very reprehensible to think that someone is having sex with a parent, a sister, a brother. But does it make sense to put two cousins, both adults, in prison? This exercise will help us to draw a line between morality and law”. He added, “Not everything immoral is a crime, and not every crime is immoral either.”

This initiative continues to generate debates in various social sectors, and now the mentions of the director of the ICBF they join those who have so far resisted the ability of family members to be able to identify sexually.