The Government is ready to begin taking steps towards the reform of the Organic Law for the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents against violence, commonly known as LOPIVI. As Demócrata has been able to confirm, the preliminary draft has already passed through the CGSEYS (General Commission of Secretaries of State and Undersecretaries) and could be approved in a first reading in the Council of Ministers this Tuesday.
Sources from the Ministry of Youth and Childhood confirm to this outlet that negotiations had intensified in recent weeks. Furthermore, in an interview with this outlet, the minister of the department, Sira Rego, anticipated that work was being done on it and that it would soon go before the Council of Ministers.
In their opinion, although the LOPIVI is relatively recent, as it dates from 2021, after a few years of evaluation they have detected that there are aspects pending refinement, others that can be expanded, and others that are susceptible to reinforcement. The reform they are working on aims to safeguard the prevention of violence against children and the support and reparation of the boys, girls, and adolescents who suffer from it.
The ministry's proposal would eliminate the 12-year limit for minors to be mandatorily heard in proceedings affecting them. Likewise, it assured that legal assistance for children would be included.
Also, it includes a modification of the visitation regime. “We are guided by a clear orientation that an abuser cannot be a good father and that there are dramatic processes in which boys and girls are living extreme situations. We see that sometimes they are handed over to the abuser or the abuser, this cannot be, it is unacceptable. Therefore, what we need is an instrument that gives many guarantees, hence the reform of the LOPIVI,” Rego herself explained in the interview with this newspaper.
More protection
The reform of the LOPIVI aims to include guarantees for the right to reparation for minors who have been victims of sexual violence, as "they will be full holders of the Victim's Statute".
In the same way, the text proposes the creation of a Commission for Recognition of victims of sexual violence, mainly by public institutions (such as educational centers or residences) and private ones (such as religious congregations, sports clubs or social entities).
Lastly, mandatory and specialized training would be regulated for all professionals working with children (education, health, social services, justice, or State Security Forces and Corps), in order to guarantee early detection, adequate intervention, understanding of trauma, or avoidance of revictimization.