The work Proposals for Reform in Cases of Women Incarcerated for Drug Offenses in Mexico was presented on March 4 at the Casa Lamm Culture Center [in Mexico City]. It is published by INACIPE [National Institute for Criminal Science] and Equis: Justice for Women, AC. The authors, Corina Giacomello, researcher at INACIPE, and Isabel Blas, both members of Equis, were present. Attending as commentators were Federal Deputy Mariana Benítez Tiburcio, academic Elena Azaola and myself.
As its name suggests, the publication deals with proposals for change in public drug policies, specifically focused on women in prison. What is the trigger that compels undertaking this interesting study?
Just last year, Equis Justice produced a report on the subject [of women in prison] in the context of a project for the Regional Feminist Articulation. Among the findings, it emphasized that drug crimes are the second leading cause of women's incarceration in Mexico. At the federal level, 53 percent of women are imprisoned for the commission of a drug-related crime.
The majority perform secondary roles in criminal networks. In many cases, they are involved by a male, usually a boyfriend. They are prosecuted and sentenced without the right to alternatives other than prison, because in the law [drug-related crimes] are classified as a felony.
The study emphasizes that a significant number of detainees are mothers and heads of single-parent households, so their imprisonment carries severe repercussions for those who depend on them. The majority of women imprisoned come from situations of extreme poverty, and they commit non-violent crimes. Then, ask the authors, is prison truly the appropriate response in these cases?
The proposals developed compel considering a new legislative agenda on drug policy, but they also address other public sectors. For example, they stress the need to develop detention protocols for cases of pregnant women, women with nursing infants, and women with children under their charge.
Currently in Mexico, at the time of the arrest, say the researchers, there are no protocols with procedures for clarifying how apprehending agents [police] and prosecutors should act in cases involving people with young children. This often means that the children's safety is lost. In this situation, children can even become victims of sexual or labor exploitation, since there are neither provisions for making the best decisions nor controls for following up on them.
In legislative terms, the authors suggest a review of sentences when it comes to drug crimes, in order to show that one must bypass preventative detention [being held for trial without option of bail], use flexibility in sentencing and introduce mitigating factors that might consider the profile of women offenders and their family responsibilities, especially with regard to those who depend on them, whether in terms of monetary support or of care.
As for the Judiciary, the paper reflects on the issue of what they call judgments that consider extenuating circumstances in the reasons that led to committing the crime, including infatuation, extreme poverty or ignorance, or in order to obtain resources needed to sustain their dependents. Indigenous and migrant women are especially to be considered, because their situations represent double vulnerability.
Also emphasized is the necessity of judges being sensitive to the issue and making use of the conventionality control in order not to issue rulings that might violate the pro persona [for the person, or person first] principle and that might go beyond their family environment. And in carrying out the sentence, ensuring a dignified life in prison, taking the Bangkok Rules as the bare minimum.
MV Note: The Mexico Supreme Court ruled on "conventionality control", which means, that federal and state judges must verify the conformity of domestic laws with those established by the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights. DOAJ, Directory of Open Access Journals.
The document is a springboard for initiating a serious and conscious debate on the subject. Its presentation is timely, considering that International Women's Day is commemorated this month. Moreover, in three months, the transition to the adversarial criminal justice system will be concluded, and the adversarial system will be operating nation-wide. Surely, we will also witness changes related to the regulation of medicinal marijuana and marijuana for personal consumption.
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, in plenary session, will soon discuss the recreational use of marijuana.
In all discussions, of any kind, it will be necessary to extract women from the realm of the invisible and impart justice in a comprehensive manner, even incorporating children who are affected by drug policies and their mothers' imprisonments.
Undoubtedly, it is essential to continue fighting for the empowerment of women in prison, translated into providing them with new tools for life at liberty. Spanish original
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, in plenary session, will soon discuss the recreational use of marijuana.
In all discussions, of any kind, it will be necessary to extract women from the realm of the invisible and impart justice in a comprehensive manner, even incorporating children who are affected by drug policies and their mothers' imprisonments.
Undoubtedly, it is essential to continue fighting for the empowerment of women in prison, translated into providing them with new tools for life at liberty. Spanish original
*Lilia Mónica López Benitez, born in Mexico City, earned the bachelor’s degree at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a master's and a doctorate in juridical science and criminal policy at the National Institute of Criminal Sciences (INACIPE). She has been a litigating public defender and professor of elementary and higher education. Appointed a Circuit [Appellate Court] Magistrate in 1999, in 2010 she was named executive secretary for Monitoring, Information and Evaluation at the Federal Judiciary Council (CJF), a position she currently holds. She has worked in courts of Mexico City, Baja California, Yucatan, Chiapas and Guanajuato. Her published works address issues of judicial reform, oral trials, violence against women, gender equality and witness protection.