Magistrate Sarah Veras Almánzar, judge of the Court of Appeals of the Judicial Department of Santo Domingo, said that judges have an active role as managers of the change of their decisions in gender perspectives free of stereotypes.
Participating in the panel "Conceptual and legal framework applied to cases of sexual violence," a topic he addressed together with Justice Maite D. Oronoz Rodríguez, president of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, he said that the judge must set clear rules when dealing with vulnerable victims, avoiding unnecessary, useless and uncomfortable questions or interrogations, whose only purpose is to demean the dignity and violate the rights of the victims.
The judge's intervention took place within the framework of the congress on "Attention to Sexual Assault Cases", which took place this Thursday and Friday at the Permanent Secretariat of the Ibero-American Judicial Summit, based in Puerto Rico.
He said that the lives of rape victims and their confidence in justice depend on the decisions that emanate from the judges.
"Many victims do not report sexual violence or abuse and still prefer to remain in the dark out of fear and distrust of the system. And that paradigm shift depends on reflecting equality in each of these judicial scenarios," she emphasized.
"As a State, all the institutions that make it up must be sensitized. To us judges, it is the last link where the case arrives, and the hot ball always reaches the judges," he clarified.
He insisted that it is important to know what is the commitment and scope of the work of the judges, of whom he said must leave aside fears and prejudices of being evaluated by counterparts, the media and public opinion.
"What good is it for us to make decisions with gender perspectives, free of stereotypes if the whole system is not on par in a single purpose," he questioned.
Magistrate Sarah Veras also said that the attitude of the man should never be justified to the detriment of the woman, as a means of resolving conflicts.
He pointed out that, according to Belém Do Pará, a convention that prevents, punishes and eradicates violence against women, this type of intimidation constitutes a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
