American Expatriate Costa Rica

Project punishes street sexual harassment with up to three years in prison

The Women’s Commission ruled file 20299, Law against Street Sexual Harassment, which now passes the text to the Legislative Plenary for final voting.

The project establishes, among other things, jail from six months to three years for sexual harassment in the streets. It proposes a substitute text to the original project, which describes street sexual harassment as a crime that can be punished with fines or jail sentences as determined by a judge, along with other accessory penalties that would provide tools to the person convicted for not relapse.

The new text contemplates three crimes of street sexual harassment such as exhibitionism or masturbation, persecution or cornering, and the recording or production of audio, visual or audiovisual material with sexual connotation without the consent of the person receiving it.

We welcome that the discussion to legislate on street sexual harassment finally reaches the Legislative Plenary, as it is an issue that has been analyzed in the Women’s Commission since previous administrations and that had not managed to move from that space. This progress is of particular relevance in the framework of November 25th, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,”

said legislator Nielsen Pérez, head of the Legislative section of the Citizen Action Party (PAC).

crhoy.com