Susel Paredes seeks to punish hate crimes by modifying the Penal Code

the deputy Susel Paredes seeks to amend sections 46, 108, 121 and 122 of the Penal Code referring to the circumstances of mitigation, capital homicide, serious injury and minor injury respectively. In this way, it is intended to create a legal framework on so-called hate crimes. Bill 4228 determines the circumstances in which these crimes are committed.

The text states that crimes motivated by origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic factor, affiliation, age, disability, language, ethnic identity and culture, clothing, opinion, economic or of any other nature, will be considered hate crimes. Those who commit capital homicide will be imprisoned for a period of at least 15 years.

“Whoever causes other serious harm to the body or to physical or mental health shall be punished with imprisonment for at least four years and more than eight years,” the initiative said. Of these types of injuries, those that cause psychological affect generated as a result of the officer compelling another to witness any form of intentional homicide, intentional injury, or rape, or that could not have avoid this situation, stand out.

It will be a hate crime if “the crime was committed motivated by hatred, race, ethnicity, religion, politics, identity, gender expression or sexual orientation”. In this case, a custodial sentence of at least twenty years and at most thirty years is applied. The text also specifies what the penalties will be for those who cause minor injuries to their victims.

The draft states that, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) “for there to be a hate crime, there must be a basic crime (…) and the perpetrator commits it because of one or more prejudices, such as prejudice due to a disability, religion, ethnicity, color or gender of the victim. The presence of a biased motivation is what differentiates a hate crime from an ordinary crime”.

Likewise, it is stated that these crimes are not only perpetrated against persons, but also against property and assets. “Hate crimes aim to induce fear and cause psychological and/or physical harm. Sometimes hate crimes are accompanied by hate speech, but this type of speech is not always a hate crime in itself,” the parliamentarian added.

At the end of January, two hate crimes were recorded, rendered invisible by the demonstrations against the administration of Dina Boluarte and the institutional crisis. More Equality reported that the cases occurred in Moche (La Libertad) and Camaná (Arequipa). The victims, two trans women, have been identified as Erika Quintana Ávalos, whose body was burned in a car three days ago, and Ale Castillo Limache, whose remains were found this Tuesday in a hostel in the ” white town”.

Erika’s hate crime is the one with the most clues, as the National Police (PNP) is investigating three suspects, including the taxi driver, who is nowhere to be found, Sol TV reported. Meanwhile, Ale’s relatives demanded justice outside the morgue, according to footage shared by Camaná Go.