This Tuesday, September 26, exactly two months have passed since the Herminda Martín de Chillán Hospital made national news, after a minor of only 12 years old, who was hospitalized as a mental health patient five days ago, fell from the fifth floor, dying minutes later.
No less tragic than her death ended up being the story behind the girl, whose journalistic investigation, carried out by various media outlets in the country, revealed inexplicable shortcomings in the entire network of support for children offered by the State. , starting with courts, police and government establishments such as Sename, whose baton was taken by Mejor Niñez.
The girl’s name was heard for the first time in the Bulnes Family Courts, when she was barely nine years old, with complaints that pointed to repeated domestic violence, alcoholic parents and a family network incapable of ensuring her fundamental rights. However, the court’s determinations always opted for a return of the minor to the family and to “train” her mother so that she could provide greater care.
It was then that in February 2023 it was discovered that she was pregnant. Although at that time and after numerous admissions to homes in the Sename network, from which she always escaped, she lived with her sister and her partner (with a history of domestic violence), the minor said that her father (cannot be identified by order of the Court) had made her pregnant.
However, it would not be until days after his death that the accused was formally charged, because – as explained in the investigation – he was a fugitive.
“But that’s a lie,” says Margot Zúñiga, president of the Neighborhood Council of El Refugio, where the minor’s family lived.
“We saw him here every day, what happens is that, just like when we called the police because of the attacks that the girl was suffering, they came but hid in the house and did not come out until the police left. But if they had wanted to catch him, they would catch him,” he added.
After nearly two months as a preventive prisoner in Chillán, yesterday a hearing was requested in the Bulnes Guarantee Court by the defense of the accused, requesting the transfer to the Biobío prison, given the credible death threats that he has received at the local campus, which was accepted by the court.
“We need clarification”
The case that includes complaints from the INDH and the Association of Feminist Lawyers (Abofem) has given little public light in terms of progress.
“And we understand that from the point of view of respect and the seriousness of the case,” says Josefa Balmaceda, president of Abofem. “But this investigation is key to showing how the entire system is failing. There are no specialists, there is no infrastructure, there is no adequate follow-up, there is no real option for these children, we need it to be clarified and made public so that something that surely continues to affect many more children never happens again.” said.
When the Chillán Hospital was consulted regarding the internal investigation they announced (the Health Superintendency estimated that there were no failures in the procedure), there was no response. Meanwhile, in Mejor Niñez Ñuble, they explained that they had no further information regarding this type of investigation or progress in criminal matters.
It is only known that the abortion that was performed on the minor in February, at the Bulnes hospital, did not have psychosocial support, and – even worse – only thanks to the discovery of a photo of the minor, it was discovered that it had already been performed. pregnant before, which was never conducted as research.
“Here, no one wants to take responsibility for anything, no one even wants to talk about the case, but the truth is that no one seems to have cared about the case until after his death, therefore, this cannot be just another cause that remains in secret,” the lawyer closed.
The cause, in fact, was declared secret.
