Mérida, Yucatán, (July 30, 2021) .- Yucatán will impose more severe penalties against those who commit the crime of femicide after the State Congress approved the initiative to modify the State Penal Code and the State Law of Access to the Women to a Life Free of Violence in this matter, which was proposed last January by Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal and with which he reaffirms his commitment in the fight against gender violence in our state.
It should be remembered that the state code indicates a penalty for this crime of 32 to 45 years in prison and 1,500 to 2,500 fine-days, with certain aggravations that increase the penalty to a maximum of 60 years in prison, as is the case of the existence of kinship, work, teaching or sentimental relationship between the active subject and the victim.
But with the initiative endorsed by the local Congress, an aggravating factor is regulated in the event that the victim is a minor, with a minimum sentence of 50 years, this being the longest among those currently provided in the local penal code and a maximum penalty of 65 years in prison.
In this way, the penalty for femicide against girls or adolescents, that is, underage women, is regulated, as well as the corresponding compensation is increased when the aforementioned links exist between the active subject and the victim or persons offended by the crime.
The reforms that were approved by the Legislative Branch are directly related to commitments 91 and 92 of the State Government, established in the State Development Plan 2018-2024. With the aim of promoting equal opportunities for groups in vulnerable situations.
Similarly, Vila Dosal called for the technical and budgetary strengthening, as the case may be, of the Municipal Women’s Institutes or Institutes already created through their councils in the municipalities, with the aim of guaranteeing access to their rights, in addition to establishing the liaison with the competent authorities to guarantee specialized services in the attention to violence against women and implement the transversal axis “Gender Equality, Opportunities, and Non-Discrimination” in their respective Municipal Development Plan 2021-2024.
Governor Vila Dosal contributes to reinforcing preventive and punitive measures to deal with this crime, in order to eradicate it.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom
