Criminal majority it is the establishment of an age from which citizens are fully responsible for the criminal acts they commit.
The legal age of majority in Brazil and in most Western countries is 18 years.
What is it?
The establishment of a minimum age that determines that a person becomes an adult varies according to culture, historical moment, gender and religions.
In most Western countries, the age of majority comes from the age of 18. However, in Japan, that age is 21 years old. Also in some indigenous tribes, initiation into adulthood begins at age 13.
For girls, in many cultures, the sign of adulthood would be the arrival of the first menstruation when she would have developed into a woman with reproductive capabilities.
Therefore, we must understand the majority in multiple aspects. In Brazil, although the age of criminal responsibility comes at 18, voting is optional for those aged between 16 and 18, for example.
In this way, the concept of majority may or may not be accompanied by more responsibilities in public, social and political life.
Arguments
The discussion about reducing the age of criminal responsibility in the case of heinous crimes generates heated debates. There are several arguments for and against the measure.
Let's see what are the points of view defended by those who want to reduce the age of criminal responsibility:
- Discernment :a young person aged between 16 and 18 is already able to know what is right and wrong. So he is fully capable of being held accountable for a heinous crime.
- Insufficient punitive measures :the measures provided for in the Statute of Children and Adolescents would not be enough and several minors took advantage of this to commit crimes.
- Decreased grooming by drug trafficking: many minors are recruited because drug traffickers know they won't go to jail.
On the other hand, those who are against lowering the age of criminal responsibility remember about Brazilian structural problems such as:
- Inequality :Brazil's social problems affect mainly black and poor adolescents, which would exacerbate the racism and marginalization of this social group.
- Education :crime among adolescents and young people should be solved with investments in education and health and not with punishment.
- Prison Model :the prisons in the country are not prepared to resocialize adults, much less would be adequate to receive young people.
Brazil
In Brazil, for infractions committed by persons under 18 years of age, the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) must be observed. This privileges the education of the individual and not his punishment.
From time to time, however, it returns to the discussion in Brazil about the need to reduce the age of criminal responsibility. In 2015, the initiative was taken by deputy Efraim Filho (DEM/PB) who intended to reduce the age of majority sentence from 18 to 16 years in case of heinous crimes.
Heinous crimes are those considered the most serious and revolting from the point of view of prevailing morality. In Brazil, rape, murder, robbery (robbery followed by death), prostitution of minors or vulnerable people, among others, are recognized as heinous.
As in Brazil the age of majority is a subject enshrined in the constitutional text, the deputy proposed a Proposal for a Constitutional Amendment (PEC) in order to have it incorporated into the Brazilian Constitution. The PEC was voted on and passed the Chamber of Deputies in 2015, but was rejected in the Senate.
Read more :
- Poverty in Brazil
- Child Labor
- Racism in Brazil
- Citizenship
- Death Penalty
- Prison System in Brazil