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Gender inequalities in family laws are rampant
By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The inequities in Costa Rica's family laws are in large part the fault of men. This is especially true in cases of domestic violence where men now have little or no rights. Women are now in control in this country, and they know it. Some find expeditious ways of doing in their male companion.
Cases of violence by women on men are usually not reported to the authorities because of fear by men to be labeled as weak. In Costa Rican culture — as in many other cultures — admitting to being victimized by a woman means a man has lost his maleness, his superiority over women.
The fact that men do not protect themselves via this law has created a trap for them as well. By not reporting abusive females, men have set the precedent that women are victims and men are abusers by default, which has in turn given a legal advantage to women.
Due to an increase of family legislation in Costa Rica aimed to protect women, Ticas are now taking advantage of the sexism in the legal system, which allows them to get away with and profit from cruel lies about their male counterparts.
On another front, many women in Costa Rica have a multitude of Ch*ldren to live off the Ch*ld support. Men believe having Ch*ldren is what they should be doing with their manhood and do not take contraceptive precautions. Therefore, men end up trapping themselves into Ch*ld support payments many have a very difficult time paying.
Here is a summary of Costa Rica's family, financial support and domestic violence laws past and present:
Before the new domestic violence laws, the family code set forth some ways for a spouse to boot out a companion and to protect Ch*ldren. However, only in extreme cases was a spouse forced from the household. In a divorce, women were given priority with the home because of the cultural establishment of the woman as a domestic worker and the man as the breadwinner. Usually, there is no such thing as a permanent alimony except in cases where a spouse is up in years or handicapped in some way. So this is the reason, in a marriage — and out of marriage — women usually strive to have Ch*ldren because they know having Ch*ldren is the best way to get the most money from a husband or boyfriend in a divorce or separation.
The financial support law is strict in Costa Rica. Not only are parents and Ch*ldren mutually liable for financial support (in the case of elderly parents and adult, financially stable Ch*ldren), so are adult siblings to minor or disabled siblings, grandparents to grandchildren and vice versa. Therefore, an elderly expat who marries a Tica and has Ch*ldren or adopts her Ch*ldren, if he fails to support the Ch*ldren, his adult American Ch*ldren (if any) from previous marriages may have to pick up the tab for their father. However, it is easier said than done, since in order for the latter to happen, the suing mother would have to provide sound proof that she cannot provide a dime for the Ch*ld and that they are literally starving.
The law against domestic violence punishes any physical, sexual, verbal and psychological violence among family members of any gender. As a rule, it has only been enforced by women who report abuse by their husbands or boyfriends.
To make it worse, it turns out that most of the judges in family courts are women, and some do not even request or accept physical or psychological evidence of the alleged abuse before they rule in favor of the woman. In fact, the law states that after all testimony and evidence have been analyzed in court, if there is still room to believe the occurrence of violence, the judge must lean towards the victim’s testimony. This in legal terms is called "In dubio, pro victima," or "when in doubt, favor the victim."
The bite to the domestic violence law is its protective measures. A woman can go in front of a judge and within a few hours get an order to toss her husband, boyfriend or lover out on the streets. In addition, the alleged abuser is then given a restraining order that prevents him from going into his house or have any contact with the presumed victim or their Ch*ldren.
Ch*ld support can be requested at the domestic violence hearing or by filing a separate case with the family court. Once they notify the man about the case, he has three business days to pay the provisional amount set by court under penalty of going to prison. In a divorce process, the judge, upon request, can also set Ch*ld support and alimony for the woman.
Women in court — especially domestic violence cases — are totally and utterly given everything on a silver platter. No questions asked. Law officers say false abuse cases happen daily, and they cannot question them or fail to enforce the order to evict because protective measures are mandatory and immediate, regardless of any suspicious circumstances.
After applying protective measures, both the alleged abuser and victim are called for a hearing to which witnesses are also called. In false accusation cases, women can still easily get away by lying during the hearing. They just need two witnesses willing to lie for them. They know that even if the lies are noticeable, the system still leans towards them and "In dubio, pro victima" rules the game. There have been countless instances in which the whole court can see the alleged victim is lying and the judge still rules in the alleged victim's favor. Even if the defense appeals the case, it can take years.
Expats have fallen victims to false domestic violence claims. As expected, as in the case of an elderly U.S. expat thrown from his house, the hearing did not go very well and the court ruled in favor of the alleged victims and their false story, even after the defense called the female housemaid to testify in favor of the innocent, elderly and disabled expat. Now he is at the verge of declaring bankruptcy, has no place to live and is on the verge of having a criminal record in Costa Rica.
After the domestic violence law was created, other female-oriented laws followed. The responsible fatherhood law empowers women whose Ch*ldren have been abandoned by their father to request a blood test to confirm the relationship and a Ch*ld support amount.
Another legal tool for women is the sexual harassment law. Even though the law protects both genders, it is used mostly by women. This law, however, is not as lenient towards women as the violence law is, since the complainant has to provide sound proof that incriminates the accused man and plenty of witnesses to support the claim.
The latest addition to the female legal combo is the anti-discrimination law for women, which states that women should be treated as equal and not denied the same privileges men enjoy in any cultural sphere. The ironic aspect about this law is that even though it advocates the removal of any oppressive preconception about the female gender, it should also advocate for eliminating and condemning the favoritism and leniency towards women in courts, especially when the defense provides irrefutable evidence that shows the woman is lying.
Women have the upper hand in Costa Rica when it comes to family matters. Men are probably the culprits in this case because most men do not stand up for their rights as women do, thus tipping the scales against them.
The fact today is that the laws are so stacked against men here that the prudent male should never get married, live in the same place as the significant other or have Ch*ldren without full understanding of the legal consequences.
Garland Baker is FAR from being the most objective journalist out there, but in this case I think he scores a lot of good points.
I've been saying this for quite sometime that the pendulum for domestic abuse, Ch*ld support, paternity and other similar issues has swung FAR towards the other side. I'm all for protecting women's rights but what CR has done in many cases is simply ridiculous. Women have all the clout at the polls and the male legislators are completely cowed. The rise of tica politicians in many key areas, including possibly early next year, the presidency itself, only makes these matters even more grave.
Unfortunately, as non-citizens there is little we can do about any of this except to avoid making ourselves vulnerable to be victimized under these laws. That means being especially careful with chicas who have learned how to play gringos for the cash we represent. NEVER risk getting one knocked up by going bareback (unless you've had a vasectomy and can easily prove any pregnancy could not have been caused by you). NEVER even put yourself in a position where she can ALLEGE that you've knocked her up (since you'll still have to pay for the DNA test to disprove it). NEVER just take her word for it when she says the baby has to be yours, since you never really know who else she may have been with but can be sure she'll certainly blame it on the one with the deepest pockets to pay for it. NEVER marry or take up permanent residence with a chica to the point that she can claim common law matrimonial status. NEVER put yourself in a position where you can be barred from your own home based on unsubstantiated charges of domestic abuse.
This only goes to show you have to be a complete fool to, let's say for example, have a daughter with a short hormonal hyper-jealous SL firecracker or any other P4P (or even former P4P) chica who has been trained by experience that gringos can be used as convenient easily dupable mealtickets to be exploited and can easily turn on them whenever they feel like it and think it better serves their purposes.
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