Tensions between procedural justice and the punitive perspective of victims’ rights in Chile

• In Event: Mapping intersections of justice, law, and policy in Latin America: Old questions, new challenges, and emerging opportunities.

Abstract

The need to align criminal justice practices with the principles of procedural justice has prompted state agencies worldwide to develop strategies to meet the needs of victims. However, this takes place in a context where there is controversy over how punitive the interests of victims are in criminal proceedings. A debate that is intensifying in many Latin American countries, where public perception of how the criminal justice system addresses victims’ needs is particularly low. Based on a survey on procedural justice (N=1850) and four focus groups (N=35 participants) applied to victims, witnesses, and cases lawyers, this work aims to show how victim care is carried out in criminal justice and to give an account of the expectations of victims in the criminal process. The results describe the difficulties of the Chilean criminal justice system in providing "procedurally fair treatment" to victims of crime and show some indicators that their interest in the criminal process is oriented towards a basic element of procedural justice the need for information about their judicial process, but also on punishment. We discussed some reasons for the punitive view of criminal justice that would predominate in victims and how enhancing procedurally fair treatment could address this situation.

Authors

• Ulda Omar Figueroa, Universidad Catolica de Chile

• Sofia Dupré, Universidad Catolica de Chile - London School of Economics