An anti-sexual harassment bill focused specifically on groping in public places was introduced in the Chilean parliament last month.
Stop Street Harassment ally Blanca Caldas kindly translated the Spanish language BBC Mundo article that covered the story. Here are a few excerpts and you can also watch a short video clip about it on the BBC.
“This measure, supported by Women National Service (in Spanish SERNAM), tries to fill the legal gap that typifies such acts as petty crimes and it also seeks a cultural change that encourages women to speak up and others to help. “Abuse and groping in public spaces has a high occurrence in our country but only 17% of the women report it to the police. Young women get scared, don’t know what to do so they don’t do anything,” said Carolina Schmidt, SERNAM minister….
One of the supporters of this bill is Alejandra Sepulveda from the Independents’ Regionalist Party (PRI), who proposed that one of the main objectives be to highlight what is invisible most of the time. ‘What is relevant nowadays is that such behavior, from which 95% of women are affected especially among young women and teenagers, is no longer invisible since fines, jail sentences and a registry of such conduct,’ Sepulveda pointed out.
In countries such as Mexico and Brazil there is a separation system in the Metro, with women only wagons in rush hour. In Mexico, where street harassment is punished with a 2 to 7 year prison sentence, this measure helped in the decrease of 75% of cases in the last three years….
‘I think this would set an example if we pass this bill in which street harassment is considered a crime. It will help men and women coexist in a dignified, educated way without separation,’ declared Schmidt.
Nowadays in Chile, the fine for street harassment is between $60 to $320.”
Because a lot more discussion is necessary to refine the language of the bill, parliament representatives and government officials expect the bill won’t pass before the end of the year or early 2012.
This is the first I’d heard about the bill or efforts to curb street harassment, particularly groping, in Chile. I’m glad the government is paying attention to this crime. While doing a little bit more research, I found out that in 2007, then president of Chile Michelle Bachelet – who now heads UN Women – proposed a series of penalties for gropers on public transportation. I’m not sure if they passed, or maybe that’s what created the $60 – $320 fines.
I wonder if people will use the law, if/once it passes. Groping people on the subway in Japan is a big problem and it has the penalty of several years in jail, but few women report the groping, in part because of the long jail sentence. I like the idea of a fine, but jail time, at least one of several years, may be seen as too extreme or severe for people to actually use. So they need to find the line where the law is one that people feel comfortable and able to use but also one with a stiff enough penalty that it deters people from groping.
Thoughts?
