The plenary of the Legislative Assembly approved these initiatives after declaring the existence of the scourge “in all its forms,” and extended an instance to all public institutions “to address this situation with a sense of urgency and immediacy,” the newspaper Delfino pointed out.

The parliamentarians asked the Executive Branch to convene a battery of 12 legal projects in areas, such as safety for women, prevention of violence and economic empowerment of women.

The Congress thus responded to a request for “urgent minimum actions” to address violence against women, signed by the Forum of Politician Women for Costa Rica, the Red Feminist against the Violence toward the sector, The Disabled Women’s Latin American Alliance and Women of Costa Rica organization.

The request was submitted to the Legislative Assembly in a meeting attended by Congresswomen Montserrat Ruiz, Rocio Alfaro, Luz Mary Alpizar and Dinorah Barquero, and was attended by former Vice President of the Republic Ana Helena Chacon.

The request was accepted by 38 of the 42 congressmen present and rejected by four members of the ruling party: Pilar Cisneros, Daniel Vargas Quiros, Waldo Agüero and Alexander Barrantes Chacon, without any of them, according to the newspaper Delfino, explaining the reasons for their contrary vote.

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