At the session held on Wednesday, April 17, the Executive Director (acting) of the Foundation, Cristián Suárez, presented on behalf of the organization.
Fundación Amparo y Justicia was invited to make a presentation to the Senate Committee on Constitution, Legislation, Justice, and Regulations regarding the bill that seeks to create the National Service for Access to Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman for Victims of Crime.
In the session to analyze this initiative, the Executive Director (acting) of the Foundation, Cristián Suárez, presented on behalf of Amparo y Justicia.
“Today we had the opportunity to share our experience in intervention, which is related to the legal and psychosocial representation of various cases that the foundation has had for 25 years, which has impacted public policies such as Act 21,057 on Videorecorded Interviewing, and Act 21,627, which seeks access for victims to participate in parole processes. We can translate all this into experience and make suggestions regarding the bill,” said Suárez after his presentation to the committee.
In his speech, the Executive Director (acting) summarized Amparo y Justicia’s observations on this project into four points. “We believe that it is important to legally enshrine children and teens as a special group for protection. It is also important for there to be specialized and comprehensive care that includes the stage when they are serving the sentence. We also suggested that assistance be prioritized but focused above all on crimes affecting children and teens, and we also emphasized the form of assistance, understanding that this intervention must be comprehensive, but always focused on the best interests of the child; on the right to be heard; on progressive autonomy and above all on dignified treatment,” Suarez explained. “We also want to highlight the prevention of secondary victimization and always consider modern means of intervention, such as collective ones,” he added.
During the committee session, led by Senators Claudia Pascual, Luz Ebensperger, and Rodrigo Galilea, other speakers also presented, including the Undersecretary for Crime Prevention, Eduardo Vergara, and the President of the National Federation of Access to Justice (FENADAJ), Marcelo Inostroza.
Legislative bill
For Fundación Amparo y Justicia, which for 25 years has provided comprehensive support to families who have faced the loss of a son or daughter due to sexual assault that resulted in homicide, the bill that seeks to create the National Service for Access to Justice and the Ombudsman for Victims of Crime represents a significant step forward by proposing the integration of these fragmented efforts, to address access to justice, and provide assistance to victims with greater resources and higher standards.
However, the Foundation considers that there are aspects that could be improved. That is why it is important to provide the Senate Committee on Constitution, Legislation, Justice, and Rules with suggestions for improvement to enrich the legislative debate and thus contribute to the betterment of the bill under discussion.
