Unveiling the dynamics of sexual crimes in Colombia based on complaints over a decade

Abstract

The aim of this article was to analyse the dynamics of sexual offense reports in Colombia over the period between 2010 and 2022. For this, a mixed methodology was applied in the following phases: first, the Colombian National Police registry –which included 286 604 sexual crimes reported in the aforementioned period– was analysed. Then, a causal loop diagram of System Dynamics was designed to highlight the role of reporting sexual crimes in the Colombian Penal System. The main findings of this article include that 85.73 % of the complaints are mostly associated with women and 68 % of the victims are minors or adolescents of both sexes. It must be noted that Colombian legislation divides these crimes into those that are aggravated by violence and those that are not. It was also found that when the victim was a woman, the crimes occurred in a higher proportion with the aggravating factor of violence. It can also be concluded that during the COVID-19 pandemic confinement, there was a decrease in the number of sexual offense reports due to its negative effect on the possibility of adult women reporting crimes. In addition, it was found that it is imperative to direct the criminal policies towards the general positive prevention of sexual crimes, without instrumentalising individuals, and aimed at completing a detailed follow-up of complaints.