Organizations stand up against lower age of criminal responsibility
One of the most heated topics discussed in the electoral dispute this year is the reduction in the age of criminal responsibility—a proposal opposed by 104 organizations that belong to the National Network for the Defense of the Adolescent in Conflict with the Law (Renade).
In a written document, the agencies have declared that they consider the idea “a step backwards in [the defense of] the human rights of children and adolescents,” as the country's Federal Constitution sets the age of criminal responsibility at 18.
Several candidates in the electoral race this year have endorsed lowering the age of criminal responsibility as a response to the feeling of impunity brought about by crimes committed by children and adolescents. A survey conducted by the Inter-Union Department of Parliamentary Advisory (Diap) shows that, after the outcome of the polls, with the National Congress “more conservative” in its composition, the debate about the issue will be among the subjects brought under the spotlight in the upcoming legislative period (2015-2019).
In the view of Renade, however, the discussion is an innocuous one, and draws the country away from what is set forth by the Statute of the Child and the Adolescent (ECA) and the National System of Socio-educational Service (Sinase). “What happens is that, when candidates associate superficially social justice with public security, they seem to be unaware of the actual routine of the Juvenile Justice System in Brazil”, the text reads.
Proposals connected with the reduction in the number of offenses committed by minors, the document claims, should be made in an effort to “effectively ensure the implementation and enforcement of both ECA and Sinase throughout the country, and make it possible to talk about solutions leading to violence and crime reduction.”
Data made public by Renade in 2011 reveal that, of the 22,077 infractions carried out by minors in Brazil, 2.9% accounted for crimes classified as heinous—like rape, and theft followed by murder—whereas 72% of breaches involved violation of property and drug trafficking.
ECA stipulates that offenders under 18 are penalized with socio-educational measures, after their offense is proved. Among the applicable penalties are: a notice, the obligation of repairing the damage made, community services, and the enrollment of the under-age offender at a full-time educational institution.
“Unfortunately, we see that, when candidates slacken the enforcement of the protection of adolescents in a situation of vulnerability, claiming that the crimes [young offenders] commit are serious, they only indulge their urge to punish, which irrationally demands the isolation of these individuals,” the statement argues.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Organizations stand up against lower age of criminal responsibility
