Every end of the year, we begin to think about what was good and bad experienced during the annual period. Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most difficult and painful episodes we have experienced as Humanity in recent times. But there are also positive situations that fill us with pride as a Research Center in Social Complexity, and it is the compilation made by two important media: Ciper and BBC, that highlight two of our researchers. 

Featured among the 20 most read columns of the year, the column “Femicides and Domestic Violence against Women” (“Femicidios y Violencia Intrafamiliar contra la mujer”), published in Ciper Académico on March 7, was written by Hugo Contreras, current student of the Doctorate in Sciences of Social Complexity and researcher of the School of Government at the Universidad del Desarrollo. The author presents evidence that allows for a causal link between domestic violence and femicide. The author suggests that, at least in theory, femicide could be reduced by deploying public policies in areas that register high levels of FIV. What kind of policies would be useful? The author argues that, as men’s and women’s years of schooling increase, as well as the employability of the latter, the domestic violence rates against women would tend to decrease.

The full column can be read here

The digital media BBC.com did its part with its 2020 count, selecting the 12 best interviewees of the year, among them the Chilean primatologist and researcher of the Research Center in Social Complexity, Isabel Behncke. “What I am observing with humans in confinement is not very different from the caged parrots that I saw taking off their feathers,” says the scientist in relation to the state of confinement we live in Chile and also in the world. Her interview, conducted on July 23, sought to elucidate the way in which confinement and uncertainty affect us as individuals and as a species. Isabel joins other prominent figures such as Spanish paleontologist Juan Luis Arsuaga, Italian-American economist Mariana Mazzucato and Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. 

The interview to the researcher can be found here