Exploring the Alarming Intersection of Rape and Crime in PERU

 Exploring the Alarming Intersection of Rape and Crime in PERU

RAPE

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, rape means to force someone to have sex when they are unwilling, using violence or threatening behaviour. Also, in the Latin American dialect, the word "violación" is used to describe the same situation or criminal act. This word comes from the original Latin "violare" which means 'treat someone violently'. This concept originated from the Latin noun “vis”, meaning 'vigor', 'strength'.

Rape is a serious crime in Peru and is defined in Article 170 of the country's Penal Code. In addition, according to the Crime Observatory of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Peru, with 25.2%, this criminal act tops a list of the crimes that most affect the country's security. According to the peruvian legal norms, rape is committed when a person forces another person to have carnal access vaginally, anally or orally, or performs any other analogous act with the insertion of an object or part of the body by any of the first two routes, by physical or psychological violence, serious threat or by taking advantage of an environment of coercion or any other environment that prevents the person from giving his or her free consent. The custodial sentence for this offense is not less than fourteen nor more than twenty years, with serious injuries, from twenty to twenty-six years.

ROBBERY

Crimes against property have increased significantly in the last three years. In Lima, between January and March 2021, 66 cases of theft were registered per day. In 2022, there were 107 incidents, and in the first quarter of 2023, there were 125.

“I believe that the prosecutor who releases a criminal should have a penalty and should be reported to the higher entity. It is not possible for the police to report the arrest of a person with all the evidence and then release them. And what is the best example? The case of Loco Chris, who has been arrested four times and placed at the disposal of the Public Ministry and was released by a judge. How many Locos Chris will there be? Capturing a criminal costs the State, because it mobilizes human and logistical resources,” said the head of the Center 2 Police Division, with the experience of working in critical districts of the capital, on the front line against crime.

“We must have a strategic plan for citizen security. If there is no strategic plan with clear objectives and strategic actions in the medium, short and long term, we are lost. There has to be a consensus from the Government. Citizen insecurity is not only a problem of the National Police, but also of the Interior sector, of the regional, provincial and district governments,” noted General Baella. (La República, 2023)

Bibliographic References

Rape. (2023). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/rape

Penal, D. V. M.-. R. L. (2022). Delito de violación sexual y sus modalidades. bien explicado. LP. https://lpderecho.pe/delito-de-violacion-sexual-y-sus-modalidades/

La raíz del miedo: en el Perú se registran 296 robos cada 24 horas. https://larepublica.pe/sociedad/2023/04/29/inseguridad-ciudadana-la-raiz-del-miedo-en-el-peru-se-registran-296-robos-cada-24-horas-delincuencia-peru-tasa-crimen-peru-robos-en-peru-1083295