Advances in the fight against violence against indigenous women presented

The initiative was organized by the Ministry of Women in the framework of the Program to Support Sustainable Development in Paraguay, implemented by FIIAPP with the support of the European Union and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

During the event, the president of the Paraguayan Indigenous Institute (INDI), Juan Ramón Benegas, expressed that violence against indigenous women goes beyond the physical and includes a reality that is often made invisible, such as exclusion and discrimination. "This deeply affects women and jeopardizes the social, cultural and spiritual cohesion of indigenous peoples. Facing this challenge requires a joint and coordinated effort, in which respect for human rights and indigenous culture are the pillars of our action, in order to give them back a life of dignity and freedom from fear," she said.

During the last two years, meetings have been held with indigenous women of different ethnicities and ages in order to learn about their experiences in relation to violence, both within and outside their communities.

The objective of this initiative is to identify the strategies already implemented and the existing barriers, as well as good practices on the part of state institutions (police, health centers or peace courts). Based on all this information, the aim is to build a proposal for a comprehensive, respectful and non-discriminatory approach in a participatory manner.

The Minister of Women, Cynthia Figueredo, stressed the importance of this milestone and the need to continue advancing in this project: "This is only the first step, we have established tables with institutions and produced the manual of functions, but we recognize that there is still much to learn, improve and strengthen in the care of women, especially indigenous women, who suffer violence".

The work process has shown that the main institutional factors that influence violence include attitudes and procedures regarding complaints, the limited knowledge that public entities have about the indigenous communities in the territories, and the scarce presence of the State in the areas where these communities are located.

On the other hand, the achievements include the construction of a proposal for a comprehensive approach with a rights-based and intercultural perspective, the elaboration of a training manual for public officials on how to address violence against indigenous women, and the consolidation of commitments and concrete actions to combat violence in these communities.

Rocío Galiano Marés, national representative of UNFPA, expressed the need to materialize the commitments made: "Now the main challenge is that these commitments can be turned into public policy instruments that can make these agreements be implemented in all the territories of our country, for that we have a little more effort.