Experiences of Access to Justice for Adults with Intellectual Disability in Chile: Barriers and Facilitators
Abstract This study explores the experiences of adults with intellectual disability in accessing justice within the Chilean judicial system, highlighting the barriers and facilitators from their perspectives. Using a qualitative methodology, the research involved in-depth interviews with 40 participants aged 25 to 55, all with a formal diagnosis of intellectual disability and recent interactions with the judicial system. The findings reveal significant structural, procedural, and attitudinal barriers, including complex legal language, paternalistic treatment, and the lack of adapted communication protocols. Participants reported feeling excluded, misunderstood, and disempowered, with many unable to navigate the system independently. The study also identified key facilitators, such as the potential role of personalized support, accessible legal documents, and the adaptation of visual and technological tools to aid comprehension. The results underscore the need for systemic reforms, including inclusive training for judicial personnel and the implementation of reasonable accommodations to guarantee equal access to justice. These findings contribute to the global dialogue on judicial inclusivity and provide actionable recommendations for policy and practice in Chile, aligned with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Referencias
- Cómo citar
- Del mismo autor
- Métricas
Academia Judicial de Chile. (2022). Protocolo de acceso a la justicia de personas con discapacidad. Poder Judicial República de Chile. https://academiajudicial.cl/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PROTOCOLO_-_DISCAPACIDAD.pdf
Álvarez‐Aguado, I., Córdova, V. V., Roselló‐Peñaloza, M., González‐Carrasco, F., Farhang, M., Vilo, K. C., ... and Aguado, L. Á. (2024). Self‐determination skills in ageing women with intellectual disability. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(2), 248-258.
Araoz, I., González, E., Martín, N. and Izquierdo, C. (2020). A cada lado: barreras de acceso a la justicia para personas con discapacidad intelectual en la Unión Europea. Plena inclusión. https://www.plenainclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/plena_inclusion._a_cada_lado._2020.pdf
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Fernández, J. and Rada, I. (2021). Guía de buenas prácticas sobre el acceso a la justicia de las personas con discapacidad. Consejo General del Poder Judicial. https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Temas/Igualdad-de-Genero/Guias-y-estadisticas/Guias-del-Consejo-en-la-materia/Guia-de-buenas-practicas-sobre-el-acceso-a-la-justicia-de-las-personas-con-discapacidad
Ferrero, E. (2021). El lenguaje jurídico como barrera para el acceso a la justicia de personas con discapacidad. Perspectivas de las Ciencias Económicas y Jurídicas, 11(2), 3-16.
Gormley, C. and Watson, N. (2021). Inaccessible justice: Exploring the barriers to justice and fairness for disabled people accused of a crime. The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 60(4), 493-510.
Gulati, G., Cusack, A., Bogue, J., O’Connor, A., Murphy, V., Whelan, D., ... and Dunne, C. P. (2021). Challenges for people with intellectual disability in law enforcement interactions in Ireland; thematic analysis informed by 1537 person-years’ experience. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 75, e101683.
Hernández de la Peña, I. (2023). Los ajustes procedimentales en el proceso penal: discapacidad intelectual y la figura del facilitador. Lex Criminalis, 4, 54-64.
Magaldi, D. and Berler, M. (2020). Semi-structured interviews. Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 4825-4830.
Marchant, E. (2023). Los ajustes razonables para personas con discapacidad en el derecho chileno: una caracterización y evaluación inicial de la situación actual. Revista de Derecho (Valdivia), 36(2), 117-140.
McCarthy, J., Chaplin, E., Hayes, S., Søndenaa, E., Chester, V., Morrissey, C., … and Forrester, A. (2021). Defendants with intellectual disability and autism spectrum conditions: the perspective of clinicians working across three jurisdictions. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 29(5), 698-717.
Miranda-Pérez, F., Andrade Guzmán, C. and Henríquez Olivares, M. (2022). Methodological adaptations and virtual ethnography in a research on psychosocial professionals in justice: The challenges of learning by doing. Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 48, 3-28.
Molina, C. (2023). La crisis del concepto de capacidad en la legislación chilena: la protección internacional y autonomía de las personas con discapacidad intelectual. Ius et Praxis, 56, 257-276.
Pérez, N. and Bermejo, S. (2024). ENABLE: National bench book (Spain). Plena inclusión. https://www.plenainclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ENABLE.-National-Bench-book-Spain.-English-1.pdf
Plater, D., Nicholls, H., Basso, S., Brunacci, A., Holt, J., Jacobs, J., Leaver, A., Muecke, G., Oxlad, M., Pandos, O., Powell, M., Wade, N. and Washusen, B. (2021). Providing a voice to the vulnerable: A study of communication assistance in South Australia. South Australian Law Reform Institute. https://law.adelaide.edu.au/news/list/2021/11/11/vulnerable-people-to-have-better-access-to-justice
Poblete, M., Shields, S. and Burgos, E. (2022). Informe de estudio sobre la capacidad jurídica. Fundación Chilena para la Discapacidad. https://fchd.cl/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Diagramado-Informe-Estudio-Capacidad-Juridica.pdf
Prescott, J. (2017). Improving access to justice in state courts with platform technology. Vanderbilt Law Review, 70, 1993.
Rodríguez-Alfaro, M. (2022). La capacidad jurídica de las personas con discapacidad en la convención sobre los derechos de las personas con discapacidad y los principales desafíos para el legislador chileno. Revista de Derecho (Concepción), 90(252), 45-73.
Sarrett, J. C. and Ucar, A. (2021). Beliefs about and perspectives of the criminal justice system of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A qualitative study. Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 3(1), 100122.
Schalock, R. L., Luckasson, R. and Tassé, M. J. (2021). Discapacidad intelectual: definición, diagnóstico, clasificación y sistemas de apoyos (12.ª edición) (trad. M. Á. Verdugo y P. Navas). Hogrefe TEA Ediciones.
Tayumi Ishiy, K. and Marcondes Ramos, J. R. (2023). Access to justice and the new technologies applied during the implementation of prison sentences. Revista de Estudios Jurídicos y Criminológicos, 7(15), 243-258.
Teira, C. and Sotillo, M. (2024). La figura de facilitación de acceso a la justicia. Comparación internacional de un reto formativo. Siglo Cero, 55(1), 11-27.
United Nations (UN). (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. United Nations. https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/documents/tccconvs.pdf
Vega, V., González, F., Álvarez, I. and Spencer, H. (2024). Explorando las necesidades de apoyo de personas adultas con discapacidad intelectual y/o desarrollo de Chile. Pedagogia i Treball Social: Revista de Ciències Socials Aplicades, 13(1), 59-68.
White, R., Bornman, J., Johnson, E. and Msipa, D. (2021). Court accommodations for persons with severe communication disabilities: A legal scoping review. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 27(3), 399.
Zamanzadeh, V., Ghahramanian, A., Rassouli, M., Abbaszadeh, A., Alavi-Majd, H. and Nikanfar, A. R. (2015). Design and implementation content validity study: Development of an instrument for measuring patient-centered communication. Journal of Caring Sciences, 4(2), 165-178.
Álvarez‐Aguado, I., Córdova, V. V., Roselló‐Peñaloza, M., González‐Carrasco, F., Farhang, M., Vilo, K. C., ... and Aguado, L. Á. (2024). Self‐determination skills in ageing women with intellectual disability. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(2), 248-258.
Araoz, I., González, E., Martín, N. and Izquierdo, C. (2020). A cada lado: barreras de acceso a la justicia para personas con discapacidad intelectual en la Unión Europea. Plena inclusión. https://www.plenainclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/plena_inclusion._a_cada_lado._2020.pdf
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Fernández, J. and Rada, I. (2021). Guía de buenas prácticas sobre el acceso a la justicia de las personas con discapacidad. Consejo General del Poder Judicial. https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Temas/Igualdad-de-Genero/Guias-y-estadisticas/Guias-del-Consejo-en-la-materia/Guia-de-buenas-practicas-sobre-el-acceso-a-la-justicia-de-las-personas-con-discapacidad
Ferrero, E. (2021). El lenguaje jurídico como barrera para el acceso a la justicia de personas con discapacidad. Perspectivas de las Ciencias Económicas y Jurídicas, 11(2), 3-16.
Gormley, C. and Watson, N. (2021). Inaccessible justice: Exploring the barriers to justice and fairness for disabled people accused of a crime. The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 60(4), 493-510.
Gulati, G., Cusack, A., Bogue, J., O’Connor, A., Murphy, V., Whelan, D., ... and Dunne, C. P. (2021). Challenges for people with intellectual disability in law enforcement interactions in Ireland; thematic analysis informed by 1537 person-years’ experience. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 75, e101683.
Hernández de la Peña, I. (2023). Los ajustes procedimentales en el proceso penal: discapacidad intelectual y la figura del facilitador. Lex Criminalis, 4, 54-64.
Magaldi, D. and Berler, M. (2020). Semi-structured interviews. Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 4825-4830.
Marchant, E. (2023). Los ajustes razonables para personas con discapacidad en el derecho chileno: una caracterización y evaluación inicial de la situación actual. Revista de Derecho (Valdivia), 36(2), 117-140.
McCarthy, J., Chaplin, E., Hayes, S., Søndenaa, E., Chester, V., Morrissey, C., … and Forrester, A. (2021). Defendants with intellectual disability and autism spectrum conditions: the perspective of clinicians working across three jurisdictions. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 29(5), 698-717.
Miranda-Pérez, F., Andrade Guzmán, C. and Henríquez Olivares, M. (2022). Methodological adaptations and virtual ethnography in a research on psychosocial professionals in justice: The challenges of learning by doing. Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología, 48, 3-28.
Molina, C. (2023). La crisis del concepto de capacidad en la legislación chilena: la protección internacional y autonomía de las personas con discapacidad intelectual. Ius et Praxis, 56, 257-276.
Pérez, N. and Bermejo, S. (2024). ENABLE: National bench book (Spain). Plena inclusión. https://www.plenainclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ENABLE.-National-Bench-book-Spain.-English-1.pdf
Plater, D., Nicholls, H., Basso, S., Brunacci, A., Holt, J., Jacobs, J., Leaver, A., Muecke, G., Oxlad, M., Pandos, O., Powell, M., Wade, N. and Washusen, B. (2021). Providing a voice to the vulnerable: A study of communication assistance in South Australia. South Australian Law Reform Institute. https://law.adelaide.edu.au/news/list/2021/11/11/vulnerable-people-to-have-better-access-to-justice
Poblete, M., Shields, S. and Burgos, E. (2022). Informe de estudio sobre la capacidad jurídica. Fundación Chilena para la Discapacidad. https://fchd.cl/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Diagramado-Informe-Estudio-Capacidad-Juridica.pdf
Prescott, J. (2017). Improving access to justice in state courts with platform technology. Vanderbilt Law Review, 70, 1993.
Rodríguez-Alfaro, M. (2022). La capacidad jurídica de las personas con discapacidad en la convención sobre los derechos de las personas con discapacidad y los principales desafíos para el legislador chileno. Revista de Derecho (Concepción), 90(252), 45-73.
Sarrett, J. C. and Ucar, A. (2021). Beliefs about and perspectives of the criminal justice system of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A qualitative study. Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 3(1), 100122.
Schalock, R. L., Luckasson, R. and Tassé, M. J. (2021). Discapacidad intelectual: definición, diagnóstico, clasificación y sistemas de apoyos (12.ª edición) (trad. M. Á. Verdugo y P. Navas). Hogrefe TEA Ediciones.
Tayumi Ishiy, K. and Marcondes Ramos, J. R. (2023). Access to justice and the new technologies applied during the implementation of prison sentences. Revista de Estudios Jurídicos y Criminológicos, 7(15), 243-258.
Teira, C. and Sotillo, M. (2024). La figura de facilitación de acceso a la justicia. Comparación internacional de un reto formativo. Siglo Cero, 55(1), 11-27.
United Nations (UN). (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. United Nations. https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/documents/tccconvs.pdf
Vega, V., González, F., Álvarez, I. and Spencer, H. (2024). Explorando las necesidades de apoyo de personas adultas con discapacidad intelectual y/o desarrollo de Chile. Pedagogia i Treball Social: Revista de Ciències Socials Aplicades, 13(1), 59-68.
White, R., Bornman, J., Johnson, E. and Msipa, D. (2021). Court accommodations for persons with severe communication disabilities: A legal scoping review. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 27(3), 399.
Zamanzadeh, V., Ghahramanian, A., Rassouli, M., Abbaszadeh, A., Alavi-Majd, H. and Nikanfar, A. R. (2015). Design and implementation content validity study: Development of an instrument for measuring patient-centered communication. Journal of Caring Sciences, 4(2), 165-178.
Álvarez-Aguado, I., Vega Córdova, V., Roselló-Peñaloza, M., González-Carrasco, F., Muñoz La Rivera, F., Farhang, M., … Álvarez Aguado, L. (2025). Experiences of Access to Justice for Adults with Intellectual Disability in Chile: Barriers and Facilitators. Siglo Cero, 56(4), 197–221. https://doi.org/10.14201/scero.32418
Similar Articles
- Félix González-Carrasco, Izaskun Álvarez-Aguado, Vanessa Vega-Córdova, Care Perspectives in Aging People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review , Siglo Cero: Vol. 57 No. 1 (2026)
- Karrie A. Shogren, Analyzing context to improve outcomes , Siglo Cero: Vol. 56 No. 1 (2025)
- Robert L. Schalock, The Importance of Critical Thinking Skills, Professional Responsibility, and Opportunity Development in One’s Career , Siglo Cero: Vol. 56 No. 1 (2025)
- Laura Elisabet Gómez-Sánchez, M.ª Lucía Morán-Suárez, Patricia Solís-García, Marta Sierra-Maroto, Patricia Pérez-Curiel, Miguel Ángel Verdugo-Alonso, The #Rights4MeToo Scale: A Tool to Monitor Compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities , Siglo Cero: Vol. 54 No. 3 (2023)
- Diana Jimena Rodríguez Romero, Carmen Gándara Rossi, Sara Magallón Recalde, Variables Involved in the Functioning of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1: A Narrative Review , Siglo Cero: Vol. 56 No. 4 (2025)
- Sandra Salas Ruiz, Soledad Domene Martos, Benefits and Limitations of Person-Centered Planning in the Field of Intellectual and Developmental Disability: A Systematic Review According to PRISMA Guidelines , Siglo Cero: Vol. 54 No. 4 (2023)
- Maialen Beltrán Arreche, Judit Fullana Noell, María Pallisera Díaz, Ana Rey Freire, Clara Blay Bisbal, Alicia Vinatea Elorrieta, The Affective-Sexual Relationships of People with Intellectual Disabilities: Supports and Barriers from the Perspective of People with Intellectual Disabilities , Siglo Cero: Vol. 55 No. 3 (2024)
- Vanesa Castro-Salgado, Zuriñe Gaintza-Jauregi, Arkaitz Lareki, The Effect of Adapted Taekwondo on the Motor Skills of People with Intellectual Disabilities , Siglo Cero: Vol. 55 No. 4 (2024)
- Robert L. Schalock, Building an inclusive society , Siglo Cero: Vol. 56 No. 1 (2025)
- Juliana Reyes-Martín, David Simó-Pinatella, Ana Andrés-Valle, Emotional Reactions of Professionals to Challenging Behaviors in People with Intellectual Disabilities: a Qualitative Study , Siglo Cero: Vol. 57 No. 1 (2026)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
+
−