Impactos colaterales de la justicia penal: un análisis psicosocial, económico y jurídico en las familias de personas procesadas o excarceladas en Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: This paper analyzes the impacts of the Ecuadorian penal system on the families of individuals being prosecuted or deprived of their liberty, demonstrating how the punitive culture, the excessive use of pretrial detention, and the structural crisis of the prison system reproduce social inequalities and consolidate exclusion. Through a critical approach, it is shown that families become invisible victims, facing economic, psychosocial, and legal consequences without institutional recognition or state support. The study highlights the contradiction between the constitutional mandate of comprehensive family protection and the limitations of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP), which focuses on the individual responsibility of the offender and omits the collateral effects on their environment. Likewise, strengths such as the social relevance and multidimensional approach of the analysis are identified, along with weaknesses related to the lack of empirical data and broader international comparisons. Finally, reforms are proposed in the regulations and public policies that include a comprehensive human rights approach, recognizing families as subjects of protection.