Chile president under fire over violence against women remarks

He says that sometimes it's not just men's desire to abuse, but also the women's position to be abused

SANTIAGO: Chile President Sebastian Pinera was in hot water on Monday over comments that seemed to suggest that victims were partly to blame for violence against women.

"Sometimes it's not just men's desire to abuse, but also the women's position to be abused," Pinera said while announcing a new law expanding the classification of femicide, alongside his wife Cecilia Morel and Women's Minister, Isabel Pla.

"We need to punish the abuser, and we also need to tell the person abused that they cannot allow this to happen and that the whole of society will help and support them in denouncing these events and ensuring they don't happen again," he added.

The new law, named after Gabriela Alcaino, who was murdered by her boyfriend in 2008, provides for sentences of up to 40 years for femicide.

It widens the categorisation to include boyfriends, whereas before it only concerned married couples or unmarried those living together.

But his comments provoked the ire of women's rights campaigners.

"Blaming the victim of violence against women is intolerable, but even more so in the context of the Gabriela law," said a statement from the Observatory Against Harassment Chile.

"It's a statement of ignorance that violates women, especially the victims of violence."

Pinera's comments came in the week in which International Women's Day will be celebrated.

Trying to clarify his remarks, Pinera told journalists: "I want to be very clear: our government's position is zero tolerance for any type of violence or abuse of women."