El Ciudadano
Original article: Chile: 2025 fue el año con más agresiones contra defensores ambientales desde que hay registro
On Thursday, April 16, the NGO Escazú Ahora released a new report detailing the situation of environmental defenders in Chile.
The report, which documents incidents of violence from January 1 to December 31, 2025, revealed an increase in both the number of affected individuals and recorded assaults.
Specifically, the documentation confirmed 72 assaults against 67 environmental defenders during 2025. Notably, 55.2% of these attacks were aimed at women, and 76.1% targeted individuals aged between 31 and 60.
“For the first time since records began in 2023, the highest concentration of cases was found in the Metropolitan Region (29.9%), followed by La Araucanía (22.4%), Los Ríos (14.9%), and Valparaíso (9%),” Escazú Ahora reported.
In this context, physical assaults accounted for 33.3% of the total incidents registered, maintaining the trend observed the previous year. Additionally, the report identifies a significant increase in defamation cases, rising from 4.2% of assaults in 2024 to 36.1% in 2025.
“In 31.5% of the cases, the affected individuals took no action to initiate judicial or administrative proceedings,” the NGO noted, explaining that among those who did file complaints or take other actions, 82.9% remain unresolved. This reflects ongoing delays from the institutions responsible for investigating and sanctioning such incidents.
Potentially More Cases Exist
The report—available at escazu.cl—systematizes these findings based on a year-long data collection effort, validating each case through independent sources, including public records and legal proceedings, and incorporating them into a database to identify patterns and trends.
Consequently, the organization acknowledges that its report is merely representative, and there may be a greater number of cases and individuals who have experienced assaults without reporting them publicly or institutionally.
In this vein, report researcher Joaquín Salinas emphasized the importance of highlighting both the role of environmental defenders and the conditions under which they operate: “Documenting the situation of environmental defenders signifies recognizing their vital role in environmental protection and illuminating the contexts of violence in which they work. This is reflected through indicators such as forms of aggression, gender, Indigenous affiliation, and reporting mechanisms used.”
Personal Testimonies
Alongside the systematic presentation of statistics, the report also collects testimonies and experiences from those who have faced aggression, shedding light not only on acts of violence but also on the stories, identities, and shared concerns of those defending their territories in the current climate crisis.
In this context, the voices captured in the report warn of a reality that surpasses the figures. Alejandra Parra, one of the environmental defenders featured, critically stated that there is currently a weakening of protective conditions for environmental defenders.
“In a government that neglects nature yet protects entrepreneurs, the situation for environmental defenders becomes more fragile and dangerous. Given that the political trend in Chile heads towards environmental regression and human rights deterioration, the international treaties ratified by our country turn into a defense tool,” stated Alejandra Parra.
Finally, Escazú Ahora emphasized that this report “highlights the urgent need to effectively implement the Escazú Agreement, in a context where protecting those who defend the environment remains a pending obligation for those who make territorial defense their primary form of resistance.”
El Ciudadano
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