orden de protección

The Trial Court sentenced the accused (AA) to two years in prison for aggravated domestic violence.  The court considered the aggravating circumstances to be the accused’s recidivism and the use of his strength to overpower his female victim.  AA had a history of domestic violence against his wife (BB).  Even though he had repeatedly assaulted BB and stabbed her once, BB refused to file a complaint against him.  A family court judge imposed a restraining order against AA pursuant to which he could not get closer than 300 meters to BB and her children.

This decision promoted the systematization of complaints relating to domestic and intra-family violence. It updated the Violence Registration Form approved by Decision No. 454 dated April 24, 2007. The form promotes a system of centralized information and, consequently, accurate statistical indicators that will help authorities to better understand and prevent violence against women.

This decision provides that complaints of domestic violence must be channeled through the Permanent Attention Office. This Office is responsible for receiving all types of domestic or intra-family violence claims, without making any distinction based on the sex or age of the victims. Since violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights, the creation of the Office is intended to streamline judicial proceedings, serving victims of physical or mental abuse in a timely and efficient manner.

In 2011, Lucia Sandoval informed her husband that she had filed a domestic violence complaint and obtained a protection measure against him, which required him to leave their home. In response, Sandoval’s husband threatened her with a gun and, in her attempt to escape, a physical fight ensued, and the gun was fired, resulting in her husband’s death. Subsequently, Sandoval was charged with the intended homicide of her husband and spent over three years in prison.