Mexico City, Apr 17 (EFE).- Nine out of ten prisoners in Mexico had contact with some criminal activity since they were six years old, which reflects the normalization of violence from an early age in the country, a report revealed on Monday. study of the organization Reinserta.
“There is no formula to create a person or for there to be a person who commits antisocial behavior, who commits crimes as such, what this study seeks is to give the necessary impact to what normalization and exposure to violence have” , the founder of the association, Saskia Niño de Rivera, told EFE.
The effort of the Mexican organization focused on the document “Exposure to violence in childhood and adolescence of persons deprived of liberty” was carried out through interviews with 5,559 prisoners in jails of 14 Mexican entities.
The research shows the complexity of the factors that contribute to the reproduction and normalization of violence, such as school dropout, access to weapons and substance use from an early age.
“Understanding and accepting the social co-responsibility that exists in the consequences of violence in childhood and adolescence is an urgent need that Mexico has,” said Niño de Rivera.
Among the findings it is mentioned that a third of the prisoners surveyed lived in a family with sufficient resources only to cover basic food, health and education needs.
One in four reported growing up in a family involved in criminal activity.
The same proportion admitted knowing that a part of the family income came from this crime.
APPROACH AND USE OF DRUGS
Niño de Rivera pointed out that drug use “is a brutal thing”, since it was found that the most consumed substances in Mexico before the age of six were stone (crack), marijuana, heroin and tobacco.
The founder of Reinserta said that the easy access to drugs and low costs is impressive.
In this sense, the study shows that marijuana and tobacco are consumed to a greater extent in the north of the country, while in the south it is tranquilizers and heroin, and in the center stone and active ingredients stand out.
“The first contact with illegal substances is within the family, whether they find the drug at home or consume with their fathers, with their mothers,” warned Niño de Rivera.
EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE FROM EARLY AGES
The Reinserta study reveals that exposure to verbal, physical and sexual violence occurs from the age of 6 and is exacerbated from the age of 12.
These violences were experienced by the people surveyed as victims and witnesses, with physical violence as one of the main causes for which they left their homes at an early age.
Among the main perpetrators of the violence, parents, siblings, and uncles were identified, who were not reported out of fear or shame, or because the aggression began under the guise of a game.
At school, forms of violence such as teasing, insults, and nicknames by classmates were also reported, although cases where the educational staff did not intervene were also identified.
It also highlights the access to substances and weapons in the community environment, where the greatest exposure was from the age of 12.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Violence against the women surveyed began when they were 6 years old, with aggressive comments about their bodies, while 4 out of 10 mentioned having suffered sexual abuse in their childhood or adolescence.
“Mexico today, internationally, we are the second country with the most child sex tourism,” he said.
In addition, he accused the criminal justice system of allowing sex tourism with minors because foreigners can “go to Mexico to buy, hire girls as young as six years old, have sexual relations and then go home with impunity.” .
“Not just that, in Mexico 74% of the people who are victims of sexual violence is directly a relative who sexually abuses them,” added Niño de Rivera.
RECOMMENDATIONS
As part of the findings, Reinserta generated recommendations on public management, security and justice, education, health, and citizen culture.
Among what is called for is to create legislation to classify as a crime the recruitment of minors to criminal groups.
As well as legal tools to prevent, detect and intervene in contact with violence through recent categories such as bullying, grooming, child pornography, sexting, stalking, child sexual abuse and domestic violence.
