[Sexual Crimes: the Law and Judicial Practice in the Province of Buenos Aires during the Codification of Argentina's Penal Code (1877-1892)]

After the passage of the first penal code in the Province of Buenos Aires in 1877, judges interpreted it in such a way so that the victims of rape and statutory rape had to press charges rather than the state directly seeking justice. This regulation of judicial procedure led to profound transformations in legal practice, operating more as an obstacle than a benefit to the protection of victim's right by limiting their ability to take part in the legal proceedings as plaintiffs, which made it impossible to punish the accused. The reigning norm in the national Penal Code was reformed in order to reconcile the law with the social reality of the victims and make it possible to effectively protect the rights of those who filed the lawsuit with the state. We confine this work to the period from 1877-1892 in order to analyze the application and interpretation of the provincial penal code and the changes introduced with the sanction of the national Penal Code in the judicial branch