Cuba works on comprehensive laws to deal with gender violence

 Havana, June 17 (RHC) Cuba is working on comprehensive legislation to deal with gender violence, legal experts affirmed Wednesday.

Speaking on Mesa Redonda (Round Table) TV and Radio program, Rufina Hernández, magistrate of the People's Supreme Court (TSP), said that the Constitution enacted in 2019 and all the normative development that it entails, allow the drafting of laws with a gender approach and that address the phenomenon in all its dimensions.

In this sense, she highlighted the drafts currently under discussion available for people's purview, include the Criminal Procedure Law, the Law of the Courts of Justice, and the Procedural Code, to which the new Family Code will be added in due course.

Lysnay Mederos, Director of Criminal Proceedings of the Attorney General's Office (FGR), explained some of the elements of the legislative proposals submitted for consideration related to this phenomenon.

Among them, she mentioned the approval of establishing the precautionary measure of not approaching the victim and the possibility for the victim to testify in private instead of appearing at the trial, avoiding re-victimization.

They also grant other guarantees to the affected persons and allow them to hire the representation of a lawyer to accompany the Prosecutor's Office during the process.

Mederos emphasized that the improvement of the laws is necessary, but currently, there are 12 criminal typologies that punish violent conduct, among which are threats, coercion, sexual insult, rape, lewd abuse, pimping, homicide, and murder.

The representative of the Attorney General's Office stated that at the end of April, this agency attended to more than 33,800 people, and 24 percent of them were women.

She explained that in 221 cases, they denounced having been victims of violence. After investigation, 37 percent were verified and added that more than half of the crimes against women were threats.

Mederos urged women to denounce any manifestation of this kind and emphasized that several ministries, organizations and institutions join efforts to fight against this scourge and provide support and guidance to those who suffer it.

Violence has many manifestations as a social phenomenon', remarked the magistrate of the People's Supreme Court, adding that it must be tackled through prevention and culture.