Saskia Niño de Rivera defends Penitencia's educational mission amid controversy

Following the controversy generated by Carmen Salinas’s mention in one of its episodes, Saskia Niño de Rivera publicly clarified that her podcast is not an entertainment project but an educational space aimed at raising awareness about stories of extreme violence and trauma. In a statement shared on social media, the activist explained the true focus of her initiative and asked that the central conversation not be misrepresented.

The Educational Purpose of Penitence According to Saskia Niño de Rivera

The intention of the Penitence podcast, as described by Saskia Niño de Rivera, goes beyond entertainment or media spectacle. The project functions as an educational tool in specialized academic settings: it is used as study material in police schools, criminology and criminalistics faculties, as well as in training programs for lawyers and psychologists.

“It’s not a gossip podcast; it’s a space where we listen to people deprived of liberty to understand something underlying, something much bigger,” emphasizes the content creator. The goal is to examine what happens in a society when thousands of children grow up in environments marked by extreme violence: sexual abuse, abandonment, school dropout, substance use, and deep trauma.

Why do some names appear uncensored?

The controversy arose because in the episode where the interviewee ‘Beto’ mentions actress Carmen Salinas (who passed away in 2021), Saskia Niño de Rivera left that name uncensored, while hiding other names of living individuals. This decision sparked speculation about the purpose of including the actress from the film Aventurera in the narrative.

Regarding this, Saskia Niño de Rivera clarified that some testimonies include proper names because they are part of the personal narrative of the person sharing their story, but the goal has never been to point out or judge third parties. “The focus in this case is Beto’s story and what this story represents,” she explains.

The True Focus: Structural Violence and Its Cycles

Beyond the specific crimes mentioned, the story Beto recounts symbolizes a reality affecting thousands of minors in the country. Saskia Niño de Rivera emphasizes that these testimonies seek to expose how extreme violence during childhood can shape life trajectories.

“Beto’s story represents thousands of girls and boys who are currently experiencing extreme violence. Children who are being physically and sexually abused, who are growing up in environments where trauma becomes part of their development,” she notes.

In the official Penitence statement, it was added: reducing these conversations to speculation about specific names diverts attention from the central issue: the urgency of attending to violent children and understanding how untreated trauma can perpetuate cycles of violence. Saskia Niño de Rivera insists that the project remains committed to this educational and social mission.