Person deprived of liberty in situations of vulnerability in the context of human rights in El Salvador, 2019-2020

Abstract

The objective of the study is to carry out a national diagnosis of the vulnerable groups of people deprived of liberty in the prison system of El Salvador, which will make it possible to warn about the current state of these institutions for decision-making. The study is: descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional. The vulnerable population is 9,149 people deprived of liberty, and was obtained according to the information compiled from the Penitentiary System registry. For the year 2020, the Penitentiary rate in El Salvador was 579, with high overpopulation and overcrowding. Within the population of vulnerable detainees, it corresponds to 24% of the global total of 37,977; of which only 6.65% represents the female gender; however, inmates with chronic degenerative, terminal and infectious diseases are the ones that represent the most vulnerable groups, followed by those with mental illness, then older adults, foreigners, women who live with children inside the prison and, finally, , with physical disability. The critical level of overcrowding makes it somewhat difficult to ensure basic respect for people's human rights, although the prison system makes the necessary efforts to comply with them. In relation to this condition, it was determined that 24% of the total prison population is within the five vulnerable groups of persons deprived of liberty, representing a category that requires priority attention, due to the social and family implications that this entails.