The Intervention of Victims in the Criminal Process and its Influence on the Mourning Process: Dialogue between Law and Psychoanalysis

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect, on the basis of contributions from psychoanalysis, on certain effects of the growing role given to the victim in criminal proceedings, recognized by several authors  as a trend in Latin American procedural law reforms. Without prejudice to acknowledging the existence of other problematic aspects, the aim will be to reflect on the situation of the relatives of those who suffer a violent death, who decide to assume the role of private accusers in the criminal process and the consequences that this intervention may have on their mourning process. From the conception that legal knowledge is limited in understanding the effects of legal solutions, insofar as the law acts on the social and individual life of its addressees, the contribution that psychoanalysis can make in this regard will be drawn upon. With these inputs, certain guidelines will be proposed that are considered useful for the design of a policy and
institutional framework to accompany the victim, which will reduce the possible harmful effects that their placement in criminal proceedings may have on their mourning process.