We invite you to read the letter to the editor written by our director of Criminal Litigation Group, Loreto Hoyos, about the Chilean prison system.
In our country, the prison reality is deficient and few things expose it as well as the emblematic case of the Capitán Yáber module. This “special” space within the Chilean prison system seeks to offer higher levels of security, but it does so selectively: only for male inmates accused of economic crimes or of “low dangerousness”.
But why is there no female Captain Yáber, and why do we continue to accept a system of protection only for some?
The problem is not only the lack of a secure section for women. The underlying problem is the normalization of a prison system that recognizes its own deficit in terms of security and dignified treatment, but instead of improving conditions for all, creates special spaces only for some. The existence of a module such as Capitán Yáber for the “less dangerous” is evidence of differential treatment.
Don’t the other prisoners and defendants deserve the same security guarantees? Not all inmates belong to criminal organizations, but the system does not seem to consider it.
It is undeniable that some high security prisons must keep under control highly dangerous criminals. However, why do some inmates and those charged with economic crimes have access to benefits and security that are not granted to others? This differential treatment, rooted in outdated rules, normalizes class and sexist discrimination in the prison system.
In its origins, Capitán Yáber reflected the historical male predominance in the labor and business sphere. Traditionally, it was mostly men who held the positions of power and, consequently, who could commit economic crimes.
The need for a “safe” unit for this profile of offenders fitted into a structure that already discriminated against women in access to these spheres of power. But this reality changed.
It should be noted that women are not a minority in decision-making spaces and, consequently, they are also susceptible to committing economic crimes on the same terms as men. However, if a woman commits this type of crime, she is sent to a penitentiary center for common and “less secure” crime.
All in all, it is clear that it is not about creating a female Captain Yáber, but about rethinking a prison system with updated and fair rules, where security and dignified treatment are not privileges, but universal rights for all persons deprived of liberty, regardless of their gender or the type of crime they have committed.
Letter written by:
Loreto Hoyos | Director Penal Group | lhoyos@az.cl
