by Rod Hughes

The daily newspaper Al Dia reported today that only 3% of the 2,476 complaints of domestic violence resulted in prosecution during the first quarter of this year, a revelation that is certain to have political reverberations across party lines. Court figures show only 70 cases resulted in penalties for the aggressors and in 33 cases the court urged reconciliation.

The rest of the cases were dismissed. Costa Rica enacted a tough “Violence Against Women Law” just last year as the relatively high percentage of women lawmakers flexed their political muscles. Unlike many Latin American nations, Costa Ricans set aside the traditional machism of the male population in the wake of an alarming increase in murders of women by their domestic partners. The women’s liberation movement is surprisingly strong here.

But the figures may indicate that the courts have not got the message right. Jeannette Carrillo, head of the National Women’s Institute, shared her worry with the newspaper over the figures, noting that, despite a tougher law, the numbers are nearly exact duplicates of the 2007 data for the courts. Very likely, the nation’s Ombudsman’s Office (called the Defender of the Citizen Office) will weigh in on the subject. It is headed by a woman.