Crime in Chile

Various analysts and politicians concur that in the 2020s crime in Chile is on the rise to levels similar to the rest of Latin America.

[1] Increased murder rates and illegal drug trade are attributed by some to illegal immigration, other attribute the rise of crime more generally as the result of increased globalization.

[5] As of the early 1990s, it was reported that domestic violence affects about fifty percent of the women in Chile.

[7] In 2019, amid the ongoing Catholic sex abuse crisis in Chile, non-retroactive legislation was passed removing the statute of limitations for trying people for committing sex abuse against children in Chile.

[8][9] During the 19th and early 20th century banditry was widespread in Araucanía and Central Chile.

Numerous factors have caused the immensely crime rates in Latin America. Two significant factors that have been influencing violence are high poverty rates and consistently high amounts of drug trafficking. Note the relatively low poverty rate in Chile and the low amounts of drug seizure. Data: UNODC, 2012.