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LETTER TO THE INTENDENT MARTÍN LLARYORA: We need policies that address the problems of our city

Following the opportunity represented by the change of management at the municipal level, we want to express ourselves on key issues for the future of our city. Therefore, we jointly address other Cordoba organizations to the new Mayor of Córdoba, Martín Llaryora, with the aim of making recommendations regarding structural problems that cause serious damage to human rights.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Within the framework of the assumption of the new municipal management, there are unattended situations for years that need an urgent response. Through an open letter, we announce in ten points what these problems are and we make ourselves available to the new cabinet to work in an articulated way.

The ten points are summarized in:

  1. Environmental and health emergency in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood
  2. Solid Urban Waste
  3. Urban Planning and Development
  4. Gender parity in the cabinet
  5. Trans labor inclusion and quota law
  6. Access to Legal Disruption of Pregnancy in Primary Care Centers
  7. Application of the Micaela law
  8. Access to public information
  9. Healthy school environments
  10. Smoke-free environments and protection of the non-smoker

These are 10 points, which are not exhaustive or exclusive of other problems, but require an urgent response because of the critical situations they represent. We hope that in the next 4 years we can articulate a joint work to continue advancing in the fulfillment of the human rights of the Cordoba community.

Access the full letter

Contact

Carolina Tamagnini, carotamagnini@fundeps.org

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Now yes: There is updated ILE Protocol

With the assumption of the new president Alberto Fernández on December 10, and after recovering his category of Ministry the health area, the third update of the National Protocol for the comprehensive care of people entitled to health was published in the Official Gazette legal termination of pregnancy. Update that a little less than a month ago was vetoed by former President Mauricio Macri, after his own Secretary of Health Adolfo Rubinstein gave him momentum.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

After the comings and goings of the previous government regarding the publication and after the repeal of the update of said Protocol, the current Minister of Health Ginés González García, a day after taking office, held a press conference at Casa Rosada in which announced that the update of the Protocol would be published in the next few hours. So it was.

Through Resolution No. 1/2019 published on December 13, what González González García had already anticipated was reflected: this protocol is an imperative of the national health policy on sexual and reproductive health.

It is nothing more than a procedural guide to guarantee the rights already stipulated by law. It also provides support to professionals who must comply with it, due to the intimidation suffered in recent times by anti-rights groups.

The update of the Protocol has few variants with respect to the previous one, resolved by Secretary Adolfo Rubinstein. One of the most relevant is the flexibility regarding conscientious objection to ensure that it does not prevent the legal interruption of pregnancy. On this issue, González García said, “we are respectful of conscientious objection, but it cannot be an institutional cut so that the law is not fulfilled.”

It is important to highlight this issue, due to what happened this year in the Province of Tucumán with the Lucia case, in which health officials hindered the realization of the ILE, waiting at 7 months of gestation to perform a caesarean section against The will of the girl. All kinds of pressure was exerted against her and her family, in addition to the violation of her rights.

In this regard, the Minister also spoke, trusting the accession of the Provinces to the Protocol so that, in this way, the rights of those who can and wish to access an ILE, and professionals who have the duty to comply with the law.

It is important to highlight that the first Protocol was prepared in 2007 during the first administration of the current Minister, and then it was updated in 2010 and 2015, when the provisions made by the Supreme Court were incorporated in the FAL Judgment of 2012 .

On this occasion and in line with the recently repealed Protocol, the update was carried out in accordance with the new Civil and Commercial Code sanctioned in 2015, and with the latest recommendations made in this regard by the World Health Organization (WHO).

One of the relevant issues in this regard is that according to the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code, a pregnant person from 16 years of age is considered an adult. Therefore, your informed consent is sufficient when requesting the application of an ILE.

Main topics

Due to the short time elapsed between the update of the Protocol by Secretary Rubinstein and the current one, the central points continue to be basically the same, as explained by Fundeps before.

It is important to continue emphasizing that the Protocol aims to “guarantee the dignity and rights of every person capable of gestating and, therefore, potential subject to the right to ILE, when their life or health is in danger, or they are taking a pregnancy product of a violation, regardless of whether it is a person with or without a disability ”.

Therefore, its main points are:

  • Reaffirms the ILE as the right of women and pregnant people.
  • The consent is adapted to the new Civil and Commercial Code, respecting the progressive autonomy of children and adolescents and people with disabilities and capacity constraints.
  • According to the CCyC of the Nation, from the age of 16 the pregnant person is considered adult.
  • Between 13 and 16, you can autonomously request an ILE when it does not involve a serious risk to your health or life.
  • It recognizes the possibility of conscientious objection, but states that it cannot be an obstacle to access to the ILE.
  • It guarantees the speed. The deadline between the request of the ILE and its completion must not exceed 10 calendar days. If a doctor is a conscientious objector, he must refer one who is in less than 24 hours.
  • It gives security to health workers to carry out the practice.

The situation in the provinces

On this issue, the new Minister was also issued by saying that “in a federal country, much depends on the adhesion of the provinces. There are already many that are attached, but unfortunately some large provinces, such as Buenos Aires for example, did not approve the protocol. ”

Recall that in 2012, the FAL ruling urged the national State and the provinces to provide the necessary conditions to carry out legal interruptions of pregnancies quickly, easily and safely.

Until today, still 7 provinces unfortunately did not have their own regulations or adhere to the protocol of the Nation. Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Corrientes, Mendoza, San Juan, Catamarca and Formosa, were part of this number.

The good news is that after the announcement of the Ministry of Health of the Nation, the Undersecretariat of Human Development of the province of Formosa, declared in a local environment that the province adheres to the Protocol since 2015 “always preserving the victim, point by which the adhesion in the province was not announced ”.

Beyond the reading that can be made of this statement, the important thing is that finally one more province pronounced itself publicly regarding its adherence.

The words of the Minister stating that “we do not believe that it is easy or that the protocol itself changes history, but we are willing to change history far beyond the protocol”, is a halo of hope that brings this new government, in The fact that the advancement of recognition of rights, the decriminalization of abortion and the legalization of voluntary termination of pregnancy no longer seem as distant or difficult to achieve, and we hope that they will soon be a reality.

Author

Valentina Montero

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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We present amicus curiae in defense of reproductive freedom in Córdoba

This Monday we present ourselves as “Friends of the court” in the case before the Court No. 7 of the province of Córdoba, by Dr. Susana Ottogalli de Aicardi, following the complaint of women victims and professionals in the area of primary health against the service of the Provincial Maternal and Neonatal Hospital Dr. Ramón Carrillo.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Córdoba Public Interest Law Clinic (CLIP), with the support of the Catholic Civil Association for the Right to Decide and the Latin American Justice and Gender Team (ELA), denounced in early October the breach of Provincial Law No. 9344 of Surgical Contraception at the Maternal and Neonatal Hospital of Córdoba, for the systematic violation of the reproductive freedom of women users of the health system.

The presentation details the historical and systematic obstruction of access to tubal ligation, through institutional violence and different attacks on the dignity of women seeking access to the surgical contraception service.

In our brief, we bring to the Court relevant factual and legal grounds for the defense of the right to health and a life free of violence. Specifically, we prepare a brief updated summary of the recommendations, observations and pronouncements of international organizations that oversee the application of human rights treaties, which have constitutional hierarchy in our country.

The denial or obstruction of access to sexual and reproductive rights that involve life free of violence, non-discrimination of any kind, family planning, as well as access to health services and the information necessary to fully exercise them , constitute acts of violence, especially if they are exercised on women.

It is the duty of the State to guarantee women the full enjoyment of their rights and to prevent and punish those who do not facilitate or guarantee access to essential services to women, in conditions of security and accessibility.

It is essential that Justice be issued in favor of the effective realization of human rights, especially of the groups most historically violated and on issues of essential importance such as the right to health. The denial or obstruction of access to these rights constitutes a serious act of violence against women, which must cease immediately, by virtue of the international commitments assumed by our country, and in respect to human rights and our current legal system.

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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Request an ANMAT to update your National Drug Vademecum

Within the framework of our work for access to sexual and reproductive rights from a public health perspective and respect for human rights, we request the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT) to update its list of authorized medications in the country, according to the medicines that appear in the Model List of Essential Medicines of the World Health Organization. In addition, we ask that you create a national list of essential drugs for primary care.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The World Health Organization has a Model List of Essential Medicines (LMME), which consists of those medications that cover the population’s priority health care needs. Their selection is made according to the prevalence of diseases and their safety, efficacy and comparative cost-effectiveness.

Within the LMME of 2019 are certain medications, which are used for treatments in sexual and reproductive health, which are not in the National Vademecum of Medicines of Argentina. However, its incorporation is essential to guarantee the right to enjoy the highest possible level of physical and mental health, and the right to enjoy and benefit from scientific and technological advances.

Based on all the norms that protect these rights, locally and internationally, fundamentally the National Program of Sexual Health and Responsible Procreation, created by National Law No. 25.673, Law No. 26529 on Patient Rights, Law No. 26.743 of Gender Identity and the National Law No. 23.798 of AIDS, among others, we ask the Administration to incorporate, and guarantee the availability and access, of medicines for the treatment of the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy, treatments for HIV, medication for treatments of hormonal replacement, contraceptive methods and medications for the treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

We also request that a national list of essential medicines for primary care be created, to follow, as far as possible, the guidelines established by the World Health Organization. The Special Rapporteur on the right of every person to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, in his 2006 report, indicated that “every State has to prepare a national list of essential medicines using a participatory process. […] A State has the basic obligation of immediate effect to make essential medicines available and accessible throughout its jurisdiction”

We believe that it is necessary to have medications that, in their necessary and appropriate doses, are in accordance with our national and international regulatory framework, while being essential to guarantee the health of people who require these practices and services, in a safe and accessible to the entire population, without discrimination.

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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Parity: that challenge always pending

We demand it in the marches, the partisan companions asked for, it has been promoted for decades with laws and projects and yet not. Again a priority male cabinet. Again a non-representative and non-diverse cabinet.

After speculation, meetings, arrangements and negotiations, finally Alberto Fernández, the president-elect, announced the formation of his cabinet. The Vice Presidency of the Nation, a charge of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, joins the Office of the Chief of Staff, a charge of Santiago Cafiero, the General Secretariat of the Presidency headed by Julio Vitobello, Vilma Ibarra in the Technical and Legal Secretariat (the authorities of the Secretariats have the rank and hierarchy of Minister) Gustavo Beliz in the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs, Martín Guzmán in the Ministry of Economy, Martín Kulfas in the Ministry of Production, Felipe Solá in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wado de Pedro in the Ministry of the Interior, Daniel Arroyo in the Ministry of Social Development, Eliana Gómez Alcorta in the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, Marcela Losardo in the Ministry of Justice, Ginés González García to the Ministry of Health, María Eugenia Bielsa to the Ministry of Territorial Development and Habitat, Gabriel Katopodis to the Ministry of Public Works, Agustín Rossi to the Ministry of Defense, Sabina Frede ric to the Ministry of Security, Claudio Moroni to the Ministry of Labor, Mario Meoni to the Ministry of Transportation, Nicolás Trotta to the Ministry of Education, Tristán Bauer to the Ministry of Culture, Roberto Salvarezza to the Ministry of Science and Technology, Matías Lammens to the Ministry of Sports, Juan Cabandié to the Ministry of Environment and Luis Basterra to the Ministry of Agriculture.

To these Ministries, the state company AYSA and the AFIP and PAMI organizations, headed by Malena Galmarini, Mercedes Marcó del Pont and Luana Volnovich, respectively, are added. In addition, Cecilia Todesca as Deputy Chief of Staff, Adriana Puiggrós as Deputy Minister of Education and Victoria Tolosa Paz in the Social Policy Council.

The photo of the brand new Pink house: Suit, tie, suit, tie, beard, mustache, shirt, handshake. What does that photo tell us that returns so much homogeneity, classism and androcentrism?

D´Alessandro, Vales and Snitcofsky, in an article published in 2017, “Overview of the glass dome in the State” state that: androcentrism?”

“There are more ministers called Juan than female ministers in the history of Argentina. Since 1983, there were only 16 women in this position in different governments, with 154 male ministers who succeeded each other. Nor is there a long history, the first was the first was Susana Ruiz Cerutti in 1989 and lasted only 45 days. Today, women are 31% of the total workers in the positions that make up the organic structure and authorities of the national executive branch, however, there are only 3 women in the 23 front-line positions (ministries, cabinet and chancery); that is, just 13%. In this layer there are also more graduates of the Cardenal Newman school than ministers. ”

This image of the outgoing government ministerial portfolio is a photo that is repeated. Far from parity, once again the political dynamics, relegate women to a few positions.

After the ministerial reorganization, the Cambiemos government left only 2 of the 11 ministries run by women. The new government shows a slight improvement as it increases the number of women in these positions to 5, but still, it is very far from parity: in total, women occupy 21.7% of the 23 positions with ministerial hierarchy of first line (counting the Headquarters of Cabinet).

In the case of the Legislative Power, the permanent struggle of women and dissidents became legal tools. Not without enormous resistance, criticism and violence, in 1991 Argentina sanctioned a Women’s Quota law – law 24.012 – which states that “lists submitted to elections must have women in a minimum of 30% of candidates for office choose and in proportions with the possibility of being elected ”. Today, about 30 years after its implementation, we recognize that the measure was positive. Discussion topics were expanded, key laws were passed and new rights were acquired in matters of identity, family, health and education. In 2017, the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation approved and converted into law the so-called gender parity for the integration of lists of legislative candidates in the national jurisdiction. Thus, as of 2019, the lists should place men and women in an interleaved and consecutive manner, achieving a 50% distribution for each gender. But in the case of the Executive Power, there is no regulation that requires expansion or parity in the formation of cabinets. The participation of trans bodies and dissent in the public-political sphere and in the key decision spaces are still pending challenges.

“In addition to these obstacles, and others where stereotypes and machismo play an important role, there is an underlying prejudice and it is that women do not reach high-level positions because they do not have the necessary education, experience and / or capacity . If we assume that the best or most qualified are always in the government leadership then we should ask ourselves why women are only 10% of the ministers we have had since 1983 to here. Women (…) are more than 40% of workers, have an average year of education more than their peers and are 60% of university students and graduates ”(D´Alessandro, Vales and Snitcofsky, 2017).

According to the UN Women in Politics map, as of January 2019, women have only 20.7% of ministerial positions worldwide, being the highest figure in history. Argentina today, manages to overcome this figure with a government that announces itself progressive, has equity as a priority and addresses specific issues that are fought from feminisms and dissent.

We are more, but there is still much to conquer

Those who militate diversity, rescue what has been achieved and continue fighting for spaces, laws and actions that are still to be achieved. Regarding the presidential cabinet, first, we look at those who access positions of power, questioning how and why they get there. When we see relatively homogeneous and masculine bodies, we only have to ask ourselves whether as a society and from politics we are doing enough to guarantee equal opportunities, more friendly spaces and other more open and inclusive ways of leading. Second, the glass ceilings and walls. Those hermetic power structures, continue to define what roles are assigned to whom based on the generic sex system. Women with some access to education can occupy spaces but only up to a certain point (in this case, be the second of, secretaries, vice-ministers and always advisors), and in certain work areas associated with an extension of care tasks and reproduction: habitat, equality, education or justice, among others.

Now we add a new ministry, the great campaign promise. The Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity. A whole team dedicated to work on these issues, something not less and appropriate to the demands of our times. However, the commitment to equality and equity must be reflected beyond a ministry. It requires a commitment to mainstreaming and not a mere name.

We want diversity to ensure effective representativeness. But the mere existence of women in positions does not guarantee the gender perspective: it is not enough only with the greater presence of female bodies, but with people who are aware and work to reduce the inequalities of power that cross us through issues of gender, sexuality , race, age and class.

The demand for diversity in ministerial positions and the gender perspective at the transversal level is not a whim. It is shown that the greater the diversity, the better decisions are made. We have seen how the gender perspective allows us to be aware of multiple oppressions and build fairer societies. We want to have leadership figures that represent us, who know about our vulnerabilities and build forms of governance that tear down walls and glass ceilings.

In a context where, according to official INDEC figures, women have a lower participation in the labor market (42% against 64% of men), a higher unemployment rate (8.4% against 6.9% of men) and we charge 74% of the salary a man charges for the same task, we will fight until we get a different photo, at the height of our times, at the height of our battles.

Returning to the words of Simone de Beauvoir: “Never forget that a political, economic or religious crisis will suffice for women’s rights to be questioned again. These rights are never taken for granted, you must remain vigilant all your life.”

Authors

Paula Kantor and Emilia Pioletti.

Contact

Cecilia Bustos Moreschi, cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org

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Observations on IDB Invest’s Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy draft from a gender-sensitive perspective

This document aims to present the observations and comments to the draft of IDB Invest’s new Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy from a gender perspective, which is practically absent in the current draft. These observations are made with the aim of making conflicts and existing problems in the actions of IDB Invest more visible, related to the violation of rights, inequality, violence and the sexual division of labour, first and foremost.

Descargar Documento / Download File
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The ANMAT Provision that authorized the sale of Misoprostol in pharmacies is suspended

The judge in the Federal Administrative Litigation No. 11, Cecilia Gilardi de Negre, issued on Thursday a precautionary resolution within the framework of the collective protection initiated by the Association for the Promotion of Civil Rights and by the Civil Association Portal de Belén.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

In the case, initiated in 2018, organizations question the constitutionality of the Protocol for the comprehensive care of people entitled to the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, and Provision No. 946/2018 of the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Technology (ANMAT), issued on 12/10/2018, while authorizing Laboratorios Domínguez SA a new condition of sale (under archived prescription).

Suspension of sale in pharmacies

The precautionary measure orders the suspension of article 2 of the provision, and is based on the reading of the MISOP 200 leaflet, as it indicates that its improper use or outside of the recommended indications may be harmful to health.

However, as indicated by the Ministry of Health and Social Development when appearing before the Court in the context of the case, Misoprostol presents security for ambulatory use with medical follow-up, without risks for the person entitled to access the interruption if It is done during the first trimester of pregnancy. Likewise, the availability of the drug in pharmacies, under an archived prescription, allows the pregnant person, together with their doctor, to decide how and where to carry out the termination of pregnancy in the cases allowed by law, without the need to attend the system Health public

Likewise, as we affirmed in our amicus, access to the medicines necessary for the termination of pregnancy, classified as essential by the World Health Organization, is part of the fundamental human rights in health matters to which the Argentine State is bound by Your international commitments. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its General Comment No. 22, on the right to sexual and reproductive health, establishes access to essential medicines as a standard for States parties. In this regard, when describing the elements of sexual and reproductive rights, and developing the concept of availability, the Committee states that: “Essential medicines must also be available, including a wide range of contraceptive methods, such as condoms and contraceptives emergency, medications for assistance in cases of abortion and after abortion, and medications, including generic drugs, for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and HIV ”.

The attack attacked, and now suspended, aimed at ensuring the rights of people who require access to this medicine for the practice of legal termination of pregnancy. There are no technical, medical or therapeutic reasons to prevent the pharmaceutical circulation of misoprostol in its presentation of 200 mcg pills, and, consequently, restrict this medication only to hospital use as intended.

Soup again

The protection presented by these organizations is only another attempt to impede rights. We recall that there is a systematic practice by these groups to prosecute each of the advances that are achieved in our country in terms of sexual, reproductive and non-reproductive health. They already did it locally: Portal de Belén got the local protocol for the care of non-punishable abortions to be suspended for more than 7 years. In that case, Prodeci had introduced himself as amicus curiae. Now, their efforts are focused on the federal order.

ILE is still right

It is important to clarify that the resolution only suspends the application of article 2 of Provision No. 946/18 of ANMAT, which authorized the sale of MISOP 200 of Domínguez Laboratories in pharmacies, under archived prescription. The precautionary request of organizations to suspend the national protocol was rejected, so its application remains in force.

Nor does the availability of MISOP 200 change for gynecological use in hospitals and health centers, nor the availability in pharmacies of misoprostol in its other commercial form, Oxaprost, from Beta Laboratory.

It is unfortunate a resolution of these characteristics, taking into account that in our country the legal abortion due to causes is a right since 1921, and the Argentine State has been repeatedly recommended to facilitate access to the practice in safe conditions.

In addition to the pending resolution of the merits, the legislative treatment of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy is imminent, for which the discussion on the availability of essential medicines for practice should be resumed.

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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Elections that gave no respite to gender violence

In August, during the election campaign, newspaper profile published a note assaulting Ofelia Fernandez. From Fundeps we denounced to INAM and INADI but their responses were lukewarm and insufficient in the case of INAM and restrictive in the case of INADI.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On July 27, Diario profile published a note entitled “Operation cancel” in which it intended to make a brief analysis of the link between social networks, new technologies and political participation.
With this objective, the author of the note, Pola Oloixarac, took as a reference figure the candidate for legislator by the City of Buenos Aires, Ofelia Fernández, making the following statement:

“In cyclic olitas, as things and people circulate on the web, we learn that certain characteristics of the Argentine bourgeoisie have an unwanted effect on the vagina of the candidate for legislator Ofelia Fernández. In a video where she is seen talking from a pulpit, she says that “the warmth of the bourgeoisie dries my shell.” Ophelia revitalizes the Marxist troop of the class struggle by bringing it closer to the immediacy of her bombshell: she invites us to think that there is an unsatisfied sexual drive in the status quo, and that the heat of the coming revolution is the only thing that could excite the young woman Ophelia According to that image, voting for Ophelia is an invitation to please her sexually, preparing her for a successful intercourse. At 19, Ofelia understands that the personal is political, that is, that the political is genital: that the Pindongas and cuchuflitos of each unite are somehow called to participate in the collective hysteria of the revolution (or the Change).”

In the cited paragraph, the author takes the metaphorical expression used by Ophelia to communicate her disagreement and rejection of certain political practices and makes a literal interpretation with the clear objective of running the debate from the political to the sexual level, degrading her for her status as a woman .

It is important to mention that it is not the first time that the newspaper profile exercises media and symbolic violence against Ofelia Fernández. On November 21, 2018, this same publisher published a note entitled “The schoolgirl k that impacted the G20 counter-summit”. The recidivism of this type of action realizes the urgent need for State agencies responsible for eradicating gender violence to carry out the necessary interventions to achieve this goal.

Faced with the violence of these speeches, from Fundeps we present the corresponding complaint to INAM and INADI through their web pages. Although the first agency received the complaint, INADI contacted by telephone to inform us that the option to make complaints by that means is no longer available and that they must be submitted in one of its offices. We understand that the restriction of the channels to make claims means a restriction on the rights of the hearings, limited to those who have knowledge about this administrative route, the time and resources to do so.

For its part, INAM’s response comes after two months of having filed the complaint; the Institution acknowledges that there was misogyny in the story, but that the author of the note did nothing more than give a literary or philosophical interpretation to Fernández’s sayings, thus minimizing the symbolic, political and media violence to which she went submitted the candidate. The document sent by the institution states:

“Although, mention is made of the genitals of the then candidate, and that should not be part of a political analysis, the note takes up textual phrases from the political leader and the article seems to become an elaborate analysis of those phrases, with some fragments of a rather literary or philosophical tone that include other figures of politics and / or culture. We understand, however, that there was misogynist production in a series of articles or journalistic coverage based on this candidate, although not only, but also other women in politics. ”

The last paragraph cited recognizes the misogyny from which the journalistic approaches to the group “women in politics” are made. However, instead of aggravating and sustaining the claim presented, the paper underestimates these misogynistic violence by falling into a collective.

It is clear that the newspaper profile profile reaffirms and reproduces the political violence faced by women who choose to perform within party politics, and accounts for delegitimization strategies through the reification and sexualization of their bodies. A deal that, on the contrary, is never applied to their male peers.

This type of action delegitimates and disables the political participation of women, as well as undermines the effectiveness of the recently implemented Law of Gender Parity, interfering with the possibility of performance on equal terms as men. This attack on Ofelia Fernández constitutes an attack on all women and a disciplinary and expulsive message from the political arena.

From the above, it is evident that we are facing a case of media and symbolic violence as stipulated by Law 26,485 on the Integral Protection of Women. This regulation defines media violence as follows:

“… That publication or dissemination of messages and stereotyped images through any mass media, that directly or indirectly promotes the exploitation of women or their images, injures, defames, discriminates, dishonors, humiliates or attempts against the dignity of women, as well as the use of women, adolescents and girls in pornographic messages and images, legitimizing inequality of treatment or constructing sociocultural patterns that reproduce inequality or generate violence against women”.

Symbolic violence, on the other hand, is defined as one that “through stereotyped patterns, messages, values, icons or signs transmits and reproduces domination, inequality and discrimination in social relations, naturalizing the subordination of women in society»

The aforementioned note also constitutes a violation of subsection m. Article 3 of Law 26,522 on Audiovisual Communication Services, which establishes the obligation to “promote the protection and safeguarding of equality between men and women, and the plural, egalitarian and non-stereotyped treatment, avoiding all discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. ”

This content, besides constituting an act of violence in itself, functions as a legitimator and a motivator of other expressions of violence. Ofelia Fernández shared the misogynist and macho messages she received in her networks from this publication and declared “It hurts the electoral campaign a lot to enable us to be treated like this. Unfair and unpleasant. ”

Author

Mila Francovich

Contact

Cecilia Bustos Moreschi, cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org

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We present amicus curiae in defense of the ILE and the sale of misoprostol in pharmacies

We present an amicus curiae (Friend of the Court) in the case before the Federal Administrative Contentious Court No. 11, for an amparo presented by the Civil Association Portal de Belén and by the Association for the Promotion of Civil Rights (ProDeCi), where they question the constitutionality of the Protocol for the comprehensive care of people entitled to the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, and of Provision No. 946/2018 of the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Technology (ANMAT).

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

All against the ILE

At the end of last year, the Civil Association Portal de Belén presented an amparo before the federal justice of Río Cuarto requesting that “the absolute and inadmissible nullity of the“ Protocol for the Comprehensive Attention of Persons with the Right to Legal Interruption of Pregnancy be declared ”, For violation of the right of collective incidence to life, and that the absolute and insanity nullity be declared for unconstitutionality of Provision No. 946/2018 of the ANMAT, issued on 10/12/2018, while authorizing the firm Laboratorios Domínguez SAa new condition of sale (under archived prescription). ”In addition, they requested a precautionary measure to suspend the effects of both resolutions.

However, the federal judge of Río Cuarto declared himself incompetent. Although the cause is of federal competence because of the people, because the National State is being sued (through its ministry and one of its dependencies), it was appropriate to refer the proceedings to the Federal Court in Administrative Litigation in turn of the Autonomous City from Buenos Aires, which turned out to be No. 11.

Meanwhile, a similar case was filed before the Federal Contentious Administrative Court No. 7, initiated almost simultaneously by the Association for the Promotion of Civil Rights (PRODECI). PRODECI is an organization “constituted with the purpose of promoting family, life and values, from the law, justice, communication, citizen participation and dissemination”, as can be seen on its website. However, there is no information on who makes it up or how it is financed, although its website details the activities carried out against sexual and reproductive rights, such as Integral Sexual Education. This organization had presented itself as a “friend of the court” in the case that Portal de Belén initiated in the Province of Córdoba against the local protocol.

Thus, by indication of the Federal Prosecutor, and having the same purpose, both cases were accumulated in Court No. 11, as well as the Benefit to Litigate Without Expenses requested by PRODECI. At this time the file is in the office, waiting to resolve the request for the precautionary measure.

#ILEYaEsRight

In the document presented, we accompany fundamentals based on the local legal system, its norms and principles, international human rights treaties with constitutional hierarchy, the pronouncements of international organizations created to monitor their validity and the recommendations of the institutions with the highest authority in the matter health, such as the World Health Organization, with the aim of defending the validity of both the national protocol and the provision of ANMAT that allows the sale of misoprostol in pharmacies.

In addition, we express that reversing any of the two provisions would be contrary to the principle of progressivity and not regressive of human rights, and that it could irreparably injure the human right to health of women and pregnant people in our country. Both provisions are nothing more than the expression of a public health policy that aims to facilitate access to the provision of an essential service that must be guaranteed by the State.

Finally, we consider that the action presented is just another attempt by these organizations to impede the right to access to legal termination of pregnancy, as they did already at the local level. It is worth remembering that the protection attempted by Portal de Belén in our province was rejected by the TSJ last year.

It will be law

It is hard to believe that at this point we have to continue defending such basic rights in court. Access to legal abortion for reasons has been a right since 1921. International human rights organizations have repeatedly recommended that the State of Argentina facilitate access to practice in safety, and have even instructed it to review its regulation, approving the bill concerning the voluntary termination of pregnancy.

However, all forecasts indicate that next year the bill on Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy will have legislative treatment again. After so many years of struggle, the abortion of the Criminal Code is imminent.

The enactment of an IVE law will mean an advance in the recognition of the human rights of women and pregnant people, fundamentally of the rights related to sexual and reproductive health and the recognition of their freedom and autonomy. Sooner rather than later, it will be law.

More information

Contact

Mayca Balguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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We present amparo action against the Province due to lack of information

At the end of October of this year we present an action for amparo for late payment, within the framework of Law No. 8803 that regulates the right to access to knowledge of State acts, against the Ministry of Health of the Province of Córdoba, for not having responded to a request for public information filed on August 6.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Within the framework of our work in monitoring and promoting public policies that respect human rights, with special interest in accessing health services in sexual and reproductive health in the province of Córdoba, we requested information from the Ministry of Health of Córdoba and the directors of the main provincial hospitals.

The information requested focused on the services provided by the Sexual and Reproductive Health Program, with questions about the number of patients who received care, the amount of training that was done in the province on the subject, the budget allocated to the Program, between others. In addition, questions about the services of Legal Disruption of Pregnancy were specifically included, and about the regulations applied to cases of conscientious objection.

In the absence of a response from the Ministry of Health, one month after having dispatched the request, we submitted a request for prompt dispatch, but we also did not obtain any response. It is worth clarifying that the period provided by Law No. 8803 for the provincial State to answer these types of requests is 10 business days. At the end of October, because this deadline was long overdue, we decided to initiate an action for amparo for late payment, which is currently being processed in the Chamber of Administrative Litigation No. 1 of the provincial justice.

The difficulties of accessing information in Córdoba

The right of every person to request and receive complete, truthful, adequate and timely information from any body belonging to the public administration is a fundamental human right to guarantee citizen participation, the strengthening of the democratic system, the transparency of public management. and the effective enforcement of other rights.

Throughout this year, from Fundeps we presented a total of 62 requests for public information to various provincial and municipal public agencies. All meet the deadline, and we only got 3 answers.

It is unfortunate that we have to resort to judicial proceedings in order to access information that is public. It is necessary that the Province review the regulations and enact a law that contemplates the minimum standards for the effective validity of this right, so we request that the law on access to public information be updated.

More information

Contact

Mayca Balguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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#25N: Is celebrated? International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

As every November 25, this Monday marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Date that calls us to review and rethink some data and measures taken by the last management.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

This date and its corresponding march close the “feminist calendar” and like every end of the year it is an opportunity to take stock, in addition to this on the occasion of the early change of government, which invites us to extend the analysis to management four years of President Mauricio Macri.

Thus, for example, at the beginning of the current month the Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich shared in her networks the data on femicides relieved by the portfolio she is in charge of, together with the phrase, in a festive tone like who celebrates an achievement, “We lower the femicides 12.1%! ” This statement, which refers to the amount of femicides of the year 2018 compared to that of 2017 (according to that information, 281 and 292, respectively), in addition to being factually incorrect, is an image of an erroneous perspective on the macho violence that explains largely the action (or lack of action) in gender policy of the outgoing government.

First, the numbers presented by Bullrich differ from those registered by the Women’s Office of the Supreme Court of Justice. According to the latter, the figures are 278 for 2018 and 273 for 2017, so it would be the opposite of the alleged reduction alleged by the minister.

According to Chequeado, the difference between the two statistics would be that in the case of the Ministry “as with other types of crimes, their figures come from police records. That is to say that it is the first post-crime analysis, before the start of the judicial investigation. ” Instead, the Women’s Office relieves information on the legal cases in process. This disparity of data should not be a problem for those corresponding to the current year, since the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Security and the Attorney General’s Office have signed an agreement to unify femicide statistics. However, we will have to wait until 2020 for the report to be published.

Meanwhile, although the official data is not possessed, the work of some feminist organizations that, as part of their militancy and without receiving any compensation, do a thorough monthly survey based on the information obtained in the media Communication. In this regard, the Mumalá National Observatory has registered 226 femicides between January 1 and October 31, 2019, not counting 38 cases under investigation, which means at least one victim every 32 hours. Broken down, this number includes 192 direct femicides, 18 linked and 6 trans / transvestites. Another relevant indicator is that 68% of the murders were perpetrated by either the couple (40%) or the former partner (28%) of the victims. Considering that 18% of them had made prior complaints, the question that arises immediately after reading these data is where the State is and what is the true scope of the policies that it has been implementing regarding gender violence.

A success of the year 2019 was undoubtedly the approval of the Micaela Law, which according to its article 1 stipulates “mandatory training in the subject of gender and violence against women for all people who work in the public service at all levels and hierarchies in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the Nation ”.

However, if we look more closely at the work of the INAM (National Women’s Institute), a body designated as the authority for the application of that law and in charge of other gender policies, the balance has not been positive. Despite having been ranked in 2017 acquiring the rank of Secretary of State within the Ministry of Social Development, this did not translate into an appropriate budget and in fact this was cut annually.

The gender specialist journalist, Mariana Carbajal, says in her note on Page 12 that, “after the complaint of human rights organizations and women, Congress increased the items assigned to it by the Executive Branch, but those increases did not cover inflation: in 2018 the INAM budget was 15 percent lower in real terms than in 2017 and in 2019, the reduction (also in real terms) compared to last year was 16 percent ”. As logically the budget deficit hinders the execution, it is understandable that, as the note reports, of the 36 shelters for women survivors of gender-based violence that Macri had promised, only 9 have been completed and equipped, of which 8 had begun to be built during the previous government.

All this allows us to affirm that, although during these four years there was some progress, such as the explicit inclusion of gender in the national budget, they were not enough. This is because, fundamentally, it is still necessary for the State to take a stand against this type of violence as a structural problem.

Far from functioning as any crime, the security and punitive approach is inadequate and, despite what Bullrich has said, the figures for femicides have not dropped. Assuming that there had been about ten fewer victims between one year and another, isn’t it alarming that they still exceed 200 annually? Obviously, much remains to be done, not only from the Ministry of Security, but entirely from the entire state apparatus.

Just as gender is transversal and inequality is reproduced in all social spheres (in politics, in the economy, etc.), gender violence is not limited to femicide or physical violence, but, for example, Criminalization of abortion is also a form of violence against pregnant people. In this sense,the latest news regarding the update of the protocol for the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy (ILE) was another attack on sexual and reproductive rights. In turn, it served as a reminder of the unfortunate decision that the government made this year to transform the Ministry of Health into a Secretariat, taking away the margin of decision (in fact, the reason used to justify the cancellation was the lack of consultation of the secretary to his superior). Since we are talking about cabinet portfolios, the promise of President-elect Alberto Fernández to inaugurate the Ministry of Gender Equality is at least hopeful. We also hope that the new administration that will assume this December 10 can redirect strategies against sexist violence to give reins to the profound cultural change that is necessary to really end it.

Of course, the claim to the State for answers is not a simple wait with crossed arms: the feminist movement remains active in the streets and the slogan Ni Una menos remains more current than ever, because beyond the number of victims of femicide and of the percentages in which they vary, as long as there is at least one dead there will be nothing to celebrate.

Author

Mariana Barrios Glanzmann
Contact
Cecilia Bustos Moreschi, cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org
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Reverse the update of the ILE protocol

The National Government published this morning a decree that canceled Resolution No. 3158/2019, which approved an update of the National Protocol for the comprehensive care of people entitled to legal termination of pregnancy.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Ministry of Health of the Nation had approved by resolution, published in the Official Gazette last Wednesday morning, the third update of the guide that contains the guidelines and standards of care for cases of abortions allowed by law. The first protocol of these characteristics was prepared in 2007, and updated in 2010 and 2015, where the provisions made by the Supreme Court were incorporated in the FAL ruling of 2012.

On this occasion, the update had been carried out in the light of the new Civil and Commercial Code, which was sanctioned in 2015, particularly with regard to minors and persons with disabilities. These axes had already been included in an explanatory note, in September 2016, but the 2019 update incorporated them into the text. In addition, it contained the latest recommendations regarding medical procedures recommended by the World Health Organization. The most important thing is that, when approved by resolution, the protocol was granted a superior legal and regulatory entity, which would have allowed the actions for its implementation to be reinforced.

Round and round

Several hours after its publication, in the afternoon, various media reported that President Mauricio Macri ordered that the resolution be annulled and that the Secretary of the Government of Health, Adolfo Rubinstein, be asked to resign.

Although in the morning there was no official decision, during the afternoon of Thursday the rumors were confirmed after a Cabinet Meeting, where Carolina Stanley, Minister of Health and Social Development, said that: “The protocol is going to be repealed because it was an unqualified decision of the Secretary of Health ”.

The decision was finalized with the publication this morning of Decree 785/2019, through which the resolution is repealed. Among the reasons stated, the Government argues that the Secretary’s decision was inconsistent with his superiors and other agencies that would have competence in the matter and that, therefore, should have intervened, such as the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Family (SENAF), the Federal Council for Children, Adolescents and Family, the National Disability Agency, the National Women’s Institute (INAM) and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

A meaningless decree

It is noteworthy that the cancellation of the resolution is based on these reasons, when none of the previous protocols (of 2007, 2010, 2015 and explanatory note of 2016) foresaw or required interventions by these organizations.

It is even more surprising that, as an argument, the impact of the protocol on the rights of girls and adolescents is emphasized, when this update, now frustrated, was adequate to the obligations of the Argentine State to be part of the Convention of the Children’s rights. In fact, in the last concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child addressed to Argentina, which were announced on June 1, 2018, the State was recommended to “guarantee adolescents’ access to abortion services without risk and post-abortion care, making sure that the opinion of the interested party is always heard and duly taken into account in the decision process”. This is precisely what the protocol update provided for, by adapting the guidelines on the consent of girls and adolescents to the provisions of the Civil and Commercial Code, based on the principles of progressive capacity and best interests of the child.

The reference to the lack of intervention of the National Women’s Institute, the governing body on issues related to violence against women, is also curious. The provisions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) cannot be ignored because of its primary function of safeguarding the human rights of women in the States parties to the Convention, such as It is the case of Argentina. In the last Concluding Observations towards Argentina, of the year 2016, the CEDAW Committee expressed its concern about the stagnation of the maternal mortality rate, due, among other things, to abortions performed at risk; the limited access to legal abortion, in contravention of the legislation and the decision adopted by the Supreme Court of Justice in 2012; the frequent refusal of doctors to perform an abortion for reasons of conscience; and cases of prosecution against women who have undergone abortions. Therefore, he urged the State to initiate accountability procedures for non-punishable abortion, and to ensure that women have access to legal and safe abortion services. The update of the protocol was clearly in this regard, because it was an advance for access to the service, and reinforced the importance of rapid access to comprehensive care and practice, emphasizing first level care and medication treatments.

What makes no sense is the reference to the draft reform of the Criminal Code, and consequent relevance of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in this matter. What the protocol regulates is a health practice. Although the right to legal termination of pregnancy comes, among other rules, from the interpretation made by the Supreme Court in the FAL ruling of Art. 86 of the Criminal Code that is in force in our country since 1921, a supposed reform of that rule It should not prevent the standards of attention on that right from being improved, which is also an acquired right. Moreover, taking into account that the draft reform of this Code is extremely regressive in its regulation of abortion.

ILE is already right

The repeal of the resolution that updated the protocol is unfortunate. The update constituted a breakthrough in the recognition of the human rights of women and pregnant people, in respect to human rights treaties, the principle of progressivity and non-regressivity, and the adaptation to the provisions of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation through the FAL ruling

However, the right to legal termination of pregnancy is not repealed, and is given by law: Article 86 of the Criminal Code, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in 2012.

Health teams should continue to apply the 2015 technical guide, with the explanatory note that was added in 2016. The decree only repeals the update, so the previous protocol remains in force.

It is imperative that state officials assume a serious commitment to our rights. The legal interruption of pregnancy is a fundamental human right, and political will is needed to guarantee its access in the best conditions.

Contact

Mayca Balguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org