Venezuela courts often victimize abused women

CARACAS, Venezuela — In the land of beauty queens, there seems to be little justice for women.

In 2001, Linda Loaiza Lopez, then 18, was tied up, tortured and raped repeatedly during a four-month captivity. In the aftermath, Lopez weathered nine surgeries to repair her damaged face and body, a legal process that went through the hands of 59 judges and six prosecutors, accusations of prostitution against her and a hunger strike to force a trial of her assailant.

But despite the evidence against the man, Luis Carrera, and suggestions that he may be a repeat offender, a judge dismissed charges of kidnapping and rape and convicted him of much lesser charges in March. Sentenced to six years in prison, and having served four years in pretrial detention, Carrera may soon be released on parole.

Venezuela has traditionally put a premium on women's physical appearance, with hundreds of beauty contests for even little girls, along with a booming plastic-surgery industry. But the high regard for women seemingly ends with how they look.

An estimated 12 women are raped daily, and at least one in 10 suffer physical abuse at the hands of their partner, according to academic studies on the subject.

What's more, nongovernmental groups tracking violence against women here estimate that only one in 10 victims of sexual abuse report it to authorities, and only one in 20 report physical violence.

"They don't report it because they don't believe in the justice system," said Odalis Caldera, the former head of the division of the national police that handles cases of violence against women. The division was created only in 1999.

Women also may not report the abuse out of fear of reprisals from their partners, of isolation from their families and of recrimination from their social circles, say experts and psychologists who work with battered women.

"The growing independence of women threatens the traditional [male] roles," said Carmen Barroso, the regional director of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in the Western Hemisphere. "Men who aren't sure of themselves, who feel threatened, often deal with this through violence."

The case of Lopez illustrates just how powerless women are in Venezuela.

Lopez says she came with her sister to Caracas from the state of Merida to finish her studies in agricultural trade school. She had been here only a month when she met Carrera, she said.

Carrera had a history of abuse. Several of his girlfriends had complained to authorities, but Carrera was never prosecuted, for reasons that aren't clear, said police detective Caldera.

Carrera kept Lopez captive in an apartment for four months, but she escaped when he left her untied one day and she dragged herself to a window to scream for help, the victim said. After being rescued by police, Lopez was found to be suffering from severe malnutrition, multiple skull fractures, cigarette burns and bruises all over her body and genital area, a nipple cut out, and her earlobes destroyed by the physical blows she had received.

Police arrested Carrera, but the legal case moved slowly. Judges and prosecutors passed on it again and again, in part, Lopez's advocates and Caldera say, because his father was the rector of a local university. In all, 59 judges, six prosecutors and three years passed with no trial.

The case eventually drew some media coverage in Venezuela, and many women's groups rallied behind Lopez's cause. And after she went on a 13-day hunger strike on the steps of a courthouse, a court date followed.

The first judge, however, found Carrera innocent for "lack of evidence" and asked prosecutors to open up a case against Lopez, her father and her sister for prostitution; the investigation against them remains open.

"The judicial system is not a simple thing. It's a monster," Lopez said.

After an appeal and a new trial, another judge found Carrera guilty of "negligence" and "grievous bodily harm" in March, dropping the rape and kidnapping charge, and sentencing him to six years.

The official sentence has not been made public yet and lawyers on both sides agreed to refrain from comment until that time. But the Venezuelan judicial system allows for Carrera, who had been in prison for four years during the trials and appeals, to appeal for parole after time served.

"This verdict is an outrage," IPPF's Barroso said of the last judge's sentence. "It is an example of the immense difficulty faced by women all over the world when they seek justice in the face of violence and abuse."

For her part, Lopez, now 23, seems resigned that justice will not be served.

But she will nevertheless soon file an appeal of Carrera's verdict. "I'm afraid he will do this again to someone else," Lopez said.