Expansión punitiva y tratamiento para agresores sexuales: a propósito de la inhabilidad de la Ley 1918 de 2018 y la sentencia C-407 de 2020

On July 12, 2018, Law 1918 was enacted, establishing the disqualification regime for those who have been convicted of sexual crimes committed against minors. This norm was subject to study by the Constitutional Court (Ruling C-407 of 2020), declaring this disqualification justified, with the understanding that its duration must be subject to the time limits established for such penalties by the Colombian Criminal Code. In this document we offer an alternative view on the subject and for this, we begin our study with the punitive expansion of sexual crimes. Subsequently, we address the treatment given to sex offenders from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective, to finish with an analysis of the constitutionality of this measure, whose application requires a classification of the offender, which is omitted at the national level. Our thesis, contrary to the constitutionality pronouncement dated September 16, 2020 -which is binding and mandatory-, is that Law 1918 of 2018 is unconstitutional and does not overcome the proportionality test, which is why it should have been expelled from the Colombian legal system.