Domestic Violence in Costa Rica
Domestic violence has been an ever increasing problem in Costa Rica, thus the reason for the government’s efforts to improve and better control this situation. Newspapers and television stations constantly report domestic disturbance stories from all over the country. The victims affected are not only wives and children, but mothers and husbands as well. Most people have a limited concept of what domestic violence is, which gives them the impression that they aren’t involved in it, but this essay is purposed to better educate them about it and give them a greater sense of awareness.
Most people define domestic violence as just a physical aggression, but in fact it covers a much broader range than that. Domestic violence may be verbal aggression or simple actions that do not involve words or direct physical contact, creating a psychological trauma to the victim. There are people that may read a story in La Nación about a husband beating his wife and criticize them, while they themselves treat their own wife or children with verbal insults or threating tones of voice. Then there are those that instead of using physical aggression or hurtful speech may simply lock a family member in a room or use actions such as ignoring an individual creating a feeling of unimportance in them. All these examples are different forms of violence which in the end affect the victim in a negative way.
This is an issue than can be found all over the world, but in Costa Rica it has such great magnitude, due to the fact that the culture is a very emotional one. Most domestic disturbances are born from emotions. Evidence of this is found in the news where the great majority of the cases are lover spats. A jealous husband, desperate for inner relief, either beats or kills his wife with the hope of relieving his pain. This clearly shows a lack of emotional control. Latin-Americans are known for being emotional, hence they are considered to be “caliente”. Another, cause of domestic violence is “chauvinism”. The husband beats his wife for any reason and the male children learn from example. The chauvinistic factor may be considered an attribute in the increasing amount of cases.
There are various ways and methods to solving this problem. Apply harsher laws along with better trained police having faster response time. It is very important that when an individual is arrested, that he doesn’t remain just locked up waiting to finish his time to just do it again, but rather during this time he is placed into a program where he may be educated differently as far as dealing with situations in a violent way. The mission is in trying to send him home a changed man, a better husband and better example for his children. Those that do not wish to change and continue to use violence are then subject to the full weight of the law marking him as a menace to society.
The solution isn’t that complicated. It’s a matter of women speaking up and real men educating foolish adult boys. Women need to speak up when they are faced with this problem. The tricky part is whether or not to jump in and rescue a domestic violence victim. There are cases in which a wife is being abused and a person interferes just to be yelled at by the victim to not get involved.
Bibliography
B., A. M. (2010, 02 19). La Nación. Retrieved 09 28, 2010, from www.lanacion.com: http://www.nacion.com/2010-02-19/ElPais/NotasSecundarias/ElPais2273922.aspx
Quesada, C. A. (2010, 09 21). La Nación. Retrieved 09 28, 2010, from www.lanacion.com: http://www.nacion.com/2010-09-21/Sucesos/UltimaHora/Sucesos2530584.aspx
