Quote:
By Elise Sonray
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff
After a year of harsher laws against perpetrators of domestic violence, an analysis group announced mixed results at the supreme court Monday afternoon. Principal coordinators of the commission said the law still needs a lot of analysis and
Ms. Gomez
Maria Elena Gómez
revisions and that there continues to be a great number of domestic violence cases.
A problem reported by the expat community with this law, is that a woman living in a man's house can kick him out if she alleges physical abuse. The coordinator of the law study, Maria Elena Gómez Cortés, who analyzed the law for a year, said Monday that she had no knowledge of women falsely accusing men in violent incidents.
Although police legally forcing a man away from his house was already practiced in Costa Rica,
cases have greatly increased since the law was put into place,
A.M. Costa Rica has reported. The newspaper has also said that some women use the law for extortion.
“I have no knowledge of these kinds of cases,†said Ms. Gómez, when asked about women falsely accusing men of abuse. Ms. Gómez said that if there was any sort of doubt in a case, a team of social workers and psychologists would investigate the accusations. Ms. Gómez added that the law was still being revised and that more analysis would have to be done.
A woman can only accuse a man of domestic violence if they are currently married or live together, said Ms. Gómez. If a couple is divorced, the law no longer protects the woman, she added.
Expats say that the problem is the long delay between being kicked out of the house and a court case to present the facts of the situation. The law only covers women, and many Costa Ricans, including police officers, have been kicked out of their homes just on the word of their female companion.
The men are then legally responsible for providing the upkeep for the woman, her dependents and the house until the case is resolved.
The legislature approved the Ley de Penalización de la Violencia Contra las Mujeres in April 2007. Approval came after a series of high-profile cases in which women were killed by their companions.
After the passing of the law, the Poder Judicial hired 77 new professionals and 80 support employees including public defenders, investigators, social workers and psychologists, among others, to carry out the new law, said a court spokeswoman. Officials approved a 2.9 billion colon ( about 5.7 million) budget for 2008.
In July, Poder Judicial and the Universidad de Costa Rica will give 10 training courses aimed at 310 judges, public defenders and prosecutors, said Jeannette Arias Meza, who works in the gender unit.
Ms. Gómez said one of the biggest obstacles in the way of the law are the emotional and physical companionship needed by a woman who has been physically or emotionally abused. She said it was helpful if female lawyers accompanied women to court.
Other obstacles in the law, said Ms. Gómez, are the investigation protocols in domestic violence cases. “A domestic violence case is not the same as any other case,†she said, “there are many facets to these cases.â€
“Without a doubt the law will help victims of violence,†said Ms. Arias. The session was held at the Corte Suprema de la Justicia.
Seems to me A.M. Costa Rica reports that the number of cases have increased, but given these things are public knowledge, A.M. Costa Rica has not provided any concrete numbers. Seems possible such a thing can happen, but seems too that A.M. Costa Rica is sensationalizing.
Yes, the risk is there, but I'm not sure it is a huge risk. It is certainly scary. I guess it depends on the relationship. If she is nutz, best to invite a bunch of friends over, send her to the store, while she is away put all her things outside and when she returns tell her it is over (friends to witness no violence). Sometimes we just have to take care of ourselves the best way possible.... depending on the situation.
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Like most of the frivolous and wacky lunatic "laws" and programs that target income and property in pairofdice "we" my gringo friends have the "only big" bulls eyes legislated on our fat asses 
Rest easy "rescuers," your good deeds wont go unpunished in pairofdice. Where do i sign? yuk yuk 
