Costa Rican Women Share A Bed With Violence

A study by the Asociación Demográfica Costarricense (Costa Rican Demographic Association) in 2010 reveals that one in four Costa Rican women literally sleeps with the enemy. The study shows that 25% of Ticas (Costa Rican women) are victims of physical violence during their sexual development.

Cinthya Chacón, psychologist from the Costa Rican Demographic Association, said there is a strong incidence in Costa Rican society, where women and even men start their sexual development with physical and/or psychological abuse.

Chacón explains that when a minor is having sex with a person five or ten years old than her or him, that's not considered consensual relationship, but rather sexual abuse.

Comments like "she wanted it", "she agreed to it" or "he in becoming a man did so with an older woman" to the expert are not valid, since youth "of this age" are "emotionally mature".

"That does not mean that young people are emotionally disabled, but rather, they are just starting to process of developing the capacity and we if we do not give them the necessary information or opportunities they become victims of unwanted pregnancies, HIV infection, which can all be avoided with comprehensive sex education", says Chacón.

But besides the abuse of minors, many Costa Rican women face violence in the bedroom, where paradoxically, she should feel more secure.

The home is the main cause of murder of women in the country, as shown by analysis indicators of police statistics of the project Sección de Estadísticas Policiales del Departamento de Planificación del Poder Judicial.

This analysis reveals that, in 2011, the majority of the female victims were single and aged between 25 and 35 and working t home, the same place where their lives were taken.

In addition, the study shows that the deaths were femicides at the hands of their lover, suitor, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend or ex-husband, during sexual attacks (rape, attempted rape or sexual abuse) and that women die in defense of the primary victim (a child or family member).

Moreover femicide cases are linked to those murders where the woman was killed by her husband or partner.

In 2010, 52 women were killed for different reasons but most were related to gender issues. During the last decade, more than 100 Ticas have died at the hands of their partner.

The trigger for most the femicides is "supposed jealousy" on the part of the offender.

The worst part is that the lack of sex education in the schools and colleges means that young people begin their sex lives without a clear understanding of what to expect, how to protect themselves physically and emotionally or what do when they become victims of an sexual attack, in many cases ending in the death of the woman.