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Tita Yanez

McMennamy- 5th Period


Source Analysis 5
Citation:
Fiona Macaulay (2006). Judicialising and (de) Criminalising Domestic Violence in Latin
America. Social Policy and Society, 5, pp 103-114 doi:10.1017/S1474746405002782
Source Validation: I believe this is a valid source because it is written by Fiona Macaulay who
is a specialist in gender studies within Latin America. It is also published within a journal from
Cambridge University which is a very prestigious and reputable university.
How I Found This Source: I found this source on Google Scholar.
Intended Audience: The intended audience for this source is people interested in the legal
aspects of handling a domestic violence case within a Latin American nation. Some of the jargon
used, is more advanced, and therefore people should have some background knowledge before
reading this source in order to understand.
Arguments/Topics This Source Discusses: This source discusses the various ways in which
domestic violence cases are legally handled across Latin America. It begins with an introduction
stating that although the justice systems poorly handled these situations in the past, there has
been an undergoing shift in recent years in order to bring about justice. In most Latin American
countries, the couple is forced to sit down for therapeutical sessions before allowing any charges
to be filed or divorce papers signed. This is because many countries stress a higher importance
on the well being of the family unit rather than the victim due to the high presence of
Catholicism in this region. Although the nations are undergoing many changes in laws, they still
have a long way to go in order to truly help the victim and make the abuser face the real
consequences of his actions. Right now, court processes are often much too slow to truly help the
victim and this in turn places them at a higher risk of danger.
Quotes:
However, one of the problems raised by feminist scholars is that the criminal justice system is
centred on the State, which is cast as the offended party. The victim is thus relegated to being a
mere witness to her own abuse. The criminal justice system is also more concerned with due
process and the assignment of blame and punishment. This makes it slow and focused on
prosecution, rather than with the victims immediate need for protection, and longer-term desire
for the violence to cease and for pacic family relations to be restored.

A number of countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and
Colombia) made conciliation between the two parties in conict an obligatory rst stage and
primary aim of court intervention.
In Chile, conservative Catholic legislators objected to imprisonment for abusive spouses, which
was a key component of the original draft bill submitted by two socialist deputies.
Article 14 of the Colombian law requires that, Before and during the hearing the judge should
use all legal means at his or her disposal to nd formulas for resolving the domestic conict
between aggressor and victim in order to guarantee the unity and harmony of the family, and
especially to make the aggressor change his behaviour.

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