The Acceptance of Violence Against Young Women by Alexa Orlich

“Pura vida” represents the brotherly love that mantles over Costa Rica. It defines the country as a peaceful nation. The statement is supposed to portray its population's kindness and laid back attitude: there is no harm or stress in pura vida. Regardless of the cheery image that the country portrays, there are still large defects that linger in the shadows of Costa Rican society which are overlooked by the pura vida statement. However, the abuse against young women in the region is an issue that the Costa Rican government can no longer ignore. 

The government has failed to inform the public about the commercial sexual exploitation of girls in the country. Underaged girls tend to enter the line of sex work as they try to escape domestic abuse or because they are manipulated by a trusted adult that pretends to care for them. Costa Rica is a popular destination for sex tourism, and the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, especially girls, may be the highest in Central America. Yet Costa Rica doesn’t diverge enough funding or workers to aid survivors of abuse: there is only one shelter in the country that focuses on helping girls ages thirteen to eighteen that are victims of the sexual commerce. 

In a more offensive strategy, Costa Rica has been trying to protect young girls by changing its laws. Article 159 in the penal code originally defined rape as when anyone orally, anally or vaginally penetrates a person of either sex when the victim is under thirteen years of age, in a state where they are taken advantage of or unable to resist, or when bodily violence or intimidation is used. Article 159 was reformed in 2016 with the passing of law 9406. Law 9406 was proposed by the UNFPA (an international organization), after they carried out an investigation on Costa Rica in which results showed that 89% of girls ages 12 to 14 who reported being in union lived with a man at least 5 years older than them. Results also showed that three-fourths of adolescents who were in union did not attend school and almost 60% of them had at least one child. Law 9406 changed article 159 by adding a set prison sentence of three to six years for someone who has sexual relations with a person between the ages of thirteen and fifteen while being five or more years older than the victim and a two to three year sentence when the perpetrator is seven or more years older than the victim when the victim is over fifteen and under eighteen years of age. There is also an added sentence of four to ten years in the case the perpetrator has a position of trust or authority with respect to the victim or their family. 

The Costa Rican government has found various issues enforcing the reform: many people don’t tend to come forward with their cases as they don’t realize there's anything wrong going on because of the environment in the region. According to UN Women, 21.2% of women ages twenty to twenty four in Costa Rica were married or in union before the age of eighteen. The government has been trying to redefine culture by educating its population on some of the dangers of an illicit relationship in public schools, radios, and television; a fruitless effort to encourage more people to report cases so that they can be separated from their abusers and put in shelters. However, psychologist Elizabeth Ballestero, the coordinator of the National Committee Against the Comerce of Sexual Explotation, believes that it would be more efficient to give families the right tools necessary to leave abusive situations. This is corroborated by the success of the program Mujer, No Está Sola which is ran by the San José’s Feminist Information and Action Center (CEFEMINA) where women are empowered and discuss their situations with one another instead of being offered solutions. The CEFEMINA states that six to seven out of every women who participate in these support groups leave the conditions of domestic abuse. Although Costa Rica has made progress in protecting young women, the country still has a long way to go. Changing the culture in a region can take decades. In order for the government to make real change, it has to take initiative without outside pressure and begin gathering statistics on the sexual abuse against women. More importantly, in order for the government’s efforts to succeed, it’s population needs to realize the urgency of change.