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Uruguay: A widening racial gap

By Cristina Canoura

Montevideo, December.– The myth of Uruguay being an anti-racist and equalitarian country had prevailed for decades. Black and white children sat down on the same benches at public schools, and there were black neighbors in practically all residential districts. This is no longer the case.

Multiracial education is now seen only at primary schools. The number of black children going to secondary schools has been dropping, and just a few Afro-Uruguayans go to college.

It was only a few years ago that a black man got to the Chamber of Deputies representing the left-wing Wide Front.

An overview

The local black population is made up of descendants of African slaves who were brought to Río de La Plata between 1786 and 1812. Montevideo was the only port of entry for slaves whose final destinations were Río de La Plata, Chile and Peru. They were first put in quarantine there.

Afro-Uruguayans account today for 10.2 percent of the three-million-inhabitant population. Those aged 0 to 19 make up 15 percent of all Afro-Americans in the country.

A report of Afro World NGO indicated that the participation of blacks in social life is 20 percent lower that of whites and that 40 percent of black women work as household servants or take other unskilled manual jobs.

Most blacks only complete sixth grade; 50 percent of black women do not go to secondary school; 40 percent suffer from domestic violence on a regular basis; and 16 percent begin working before they turn 15.

A study published on December 3 (National Candombe Day) revealed that the racial gap has been widening in the last 10 years, especially among children and teenagers. The candombe is a lively dance of South American blacks.

Conducted by 13 researchers, the multidisciplinary study was entitled The Afro-Uruguayan population: ethnic and racial inequalities.

In the section devoted to children and teenagers, social anthropologist Wanda Cabella says that 57 percent of black minors are currently living below the poverty line. This situation is affecting 28.5 percent of white children. "A decade ago, these figures had stood at 42.8 percent and 22 percent, respectively", she adds.

"Increased poverty and unequal wealth distribution have further widened the economic gap between black and white people in the country", she noted.

"This is particularly the case of well-being indicators like nutrition, housing, education and other basic services", she indicates.

"Social disparity has led to economic inequality because the government has failed to develop and implement appropriate intervention policies", she stresses.

"Over half of Afro-Uruguayan mothers are unemployed, and 54 percent of them make no contribution to pension funds" she concludes.

Visible discrimination

A research team at the University of Uruguay, School of Psychology carried out a survey and field work to evaluate living conditions of and racial discrimination against the Afro-Uruguayan population living in the capital city and in Artigas and Rivera (two departments on the Brazilian border).

Respondents said that they are often considered potential criminals just because of skin color.

Discriminatory practices are seen at public and private (Catholic and lay) schools. Black children are exposed to physical and psychological violence and are not invited to attend out-of-school social activities.

Not all teachers pay attention to these actions, and victims usually end up as victimizers.

Local people still remember that there were coffee shops and restaurants prohibiting access to blacks. They had a sign that said: “Right of admission reserved”. And daily language is still filled with discriminatory expressions such as: “I have worked as hard as a black boy today”.

Most Afro-Uruguayans are not familiar with the mechanisms they can use to defend their rights, and those who are do not use them out of mistrust. The majority of them feel they are slave descendants rather than Afro-Uruguayans, the research team concluded.

Mexico: Over 35,000 women to be vaccinated against HPV in 2009

By Sara Lovera

Mexico City, December.- Adriana wants to know where she can have her 12-year-old girl vaccinated against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Andrea (18) asks how much the vaccine costs.

Many questions have been asked in the capital city since December 1st, when a vaccination campaign was launched to cover 35,000 girls aged 11 to 13 against an infection that causes 90 percent of cervical cancer cases in the country.

The vaccine and related information are available at all local healthcare facilities. The government will invest 110 million Mexican pesos (over 10 million dollars) on such an initiative.

A report of the Women’s Cancer Expert Group at the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that malignant tumors have become a scourge for women.

HPV infection is associated with unsafe sexual practices. A 2007 survey revealed that 40 percent of infected women in Mexico did not know they had contracted the virus.

The vaccine had until recently been available only at privately owned healthcare facilities (at over 600 dollars). It is now provided free at 109 local healthcare centers.

A WHO study showed that half a million Mexican women will not die of cervical cancer in the next 10 years if 70 percent of 12-year-old girls are vaccinated today.

It also revealed that one woman dies of this cancer every two minutes in the world and that the highest mortality rates occur in Latin America and the Caribbean. Around 5,000 Mexican women have been dying of it every year, it added.

International data indicated that 19 women every 100,000 inhabitants in Mexico are HPV-infected.

Such a trend will be stopped if cytological (Papanicolau) tests are conducted on a regular basis, the study concluded.

Good news for girls

Built in 1600, the Town Hall received 50 girls aged 11 to 13 last December 1^st. They came for the HPV vaccine.

After they were vaccinated, they were provided with information on sexual practices, STI prevention and gender violence.

Local Governor Marcelo Ebrard said the idea is to promote a responsible sexual behavior.

A total of 105,000 doses will be administered at 16 areas under the umbrella of the Health Secretariat, its representative Armando Ahued announced. "The vaccine is a step forward in prevention work", he added.

"Two doses will be applied. The second one will be administered two months after the first one. The vaccine against the virus is 98-percent effective", he explained.

Prevention actions

An official at the healthcare institution covering the 20-million-inhabitant metropolitan area announced that the vaccine will for the first time be applied to sixth-grade girls next year.

Cervical cancer is today the second major cause of mother death, after breast cancer, Víctor Torres told SEMlac. He is the deputy-director of the Epidemiology Department at the Mexican Health Institute. "We plan to administer over 240,000 doses in a first stage", he stressed.

"The vaccine has already been applied to poor girls in five poor states (Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas and Hidalgo)", he added.

It is important for girls to be vaccinated before they initiate their sexual life, Gabriela Rodríguez told SEMlac. She is a representative of Afluentes NGO.

"A total of 300 teenage girls aged nine to 17 in Netzahualcoyotl , the most densely populated and backward municipality in the country, have already been vaccinated", she commented.

Local data show that 100,000 out of 661,000 women living in this district are HPV-infected. They account for 15 percent of the local female population. Out of this total, 66,000 (10 percent) have developed cervical cancer.

Social Development Secretary María G. Salvador said that the first prevention actions had been implemented in 2007. "We have administered 900 doses to date", she added.

"The local government has invested 2.7 million pesos on vaccines that are being provided free", she stressed.

Over 105,000 girls aged 11 to 13 in the Federal District will be vaccinated in the next six months, Ahued indicated.

Around 35,000 teenage girls will be included to total 140,000 women in 2009. One every 10 local women are HPV-infected, data revealed.

Twenty percent of poor girls aged 11 to 13 who have not initiated their sexual life will be vaccinated in a first stage.

"People hope that similar campaigns will be conducted in other Mexican states in the not-too-distant future", Rodríguez emphasized.

Dominican Republic: Congress committed to fighting gender violence

By Mirta Rodríguez

Santo Domingo, December.– Originally promoted by the Standing Committee on Gender Equality, a national campaign against violence has just been launched by the Dominican Chamber of Deputies.

Intended for men in a country where over 130 women have been murdered so far this year, the campaign is led by Félix Díaz, an outstanding boxer who won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

A total of 35 deputies and two senators, accounting for 19 percent and six percent of members in the lower and upper chambers, respectively, managed to introduce an initiative that had been developed in Canada some years ago: the use of a white loop to fight violence against women.

Last December 5, they visited all departments in the country to grant the loop to businessmen, workers, government officials, broadcasters, ministers and even congress colleagues. They also distributed a manifesto.

Magda Rodríguez, a Santiago de Los Caballeros MP who heads the Standing Committee on Gender Equality at Congress, told SEMlac that the initiative has so far been well received. "Many men have been taken by surprise, but have not rejected it", she added.

Entitled Men against Gender Violence, the manifesto and the loop have proven to be effective in other activities such as March 8 celebrations and AIDS prevention campaigns.

The manifesto’s first paragraph reads: We men understand how serious violence against women is and fully support women’s rights. We undertake to eradicate domestic violence.

Another paragraph indicates: We men commit to changing the traditional model that grants special authority over women. We are convinced of the fact that no force (either physical or otherwise) should be exerted to impose our wishes on women.

The document urges men to learn how to negotiate, recognize mistakes, solve conflicts in a peaceful manner, help enforce the current legislation against violence, and support women’s struggle.

Although a Law against Family Violence has been enforced since 1997, many abusers have gone unpunished and many abused women have remained silent. Incest and rape cases are still occurring.

A man who abused four children has just been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Women’s murderers serve up to 30 years in prison under the law, but influence peddling is commonplace.

Over 1,000 women, mostly peasants, rallied on November 25 at Independence Park in downtown Santo Domingo to ask the government to promote a violence-free society.

Local artist Lorena Espinoza designed a poster for the occasion, showing a smiling woman lying on a field of roses and butterfly jasmines.

We demand respect for our dignity and rights, land to toil, food sovereignty, well-paying jobs, and lower prices for foodstuffs and medicines. We ask the government to decriminalize therapeutic abortion and punish those involved in acts of incest and rape, a message of rally participants indicated.

Violence: Without political will and social pressure, laws are worthless instruments

By Sara Lovera

Mexico City, November.– If social tolerance, impunity and widespread insecurity continue to prevail in Latin America and the Caribbean, laws seeking to prevent, sanction and eradicate violence against women will become worthless instruments.

Pieces of legislation on family violence have, for over ten years, failed to focus on women, the major power victims in society.

These efforts have been hindered by a reactionary culture, with police agents, judges and government officials acting carelessly or ignorantly, and impunity becoming the rule of the day.

Demands for a new, comprehensive legislation have not been well received. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, for example, does not accept such a thing because he strongly opposes damage reparation.

The Costa Rican and Chilean congresses have shown lack of sensibility and indifference along these lines. They have not developed any law to prevent and sanction physical and psychological violence against women.

Although family violence is recognized in Cuba, no specific law has been enacted. Out of 24 attorneys, lawyers, police investigators and judges included in a recent study, 90 percent highlighted the need to develop some legislation on family violence, and 85 percent believed that it was a serious flaw to apply the criminal procedure only when there are injuries involved.

Impunity

Only three percent of violence cases are resolved in Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Colombia.

Argentinean lawyer Susana Chiarotti, member of the Latin American and Caribbean Committee to Defend Women’s Rights, said that the legal framework in place is inadequate and has no complementary institutions to work in a consistent and coordinated manner.

Mexican expert Teresa Ulloa, member of the Latin American Coalition to Fight Traffic of Girls and Women, feels that political will is required from governments and consciousness, from women. They are still being re-victimized by justice administration in countries like Uruguay, where decisions are left only to judges.

Gladys Acosta, a feminist lawyer who is the new UNIFEM director for Latin America and the Caribbean, indicated that institutional weakness makes it unworkable to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women (known as the Baelén do Pará Convention).

Although some laws on family violence have, in the last 10 years, been developed in Argentina, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Brazil and El Salvador, they can not be implemented because they are full of hindrances and weaknesses.

Chiarotti told SEMlac that such obstacles include impunity, lack of sensibility, and shortage of money to train police agents, judges and other stakeholders.

A report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) concluded that violence against women is being given high profile in the region.

It is not a private issue; it is a serious crime contained in the Human Rights Glossary, the document indicated.

It urged to introduce a change in legislation, based on political commitment and institutional reform, in keeping with international standards and laws.

Comprehensive legislation

"Only Venezuela, Guatemala and Mexico have comprehensive laws to fight violence against women. The other countries of the region have inadequate legal frameworks", stressed Chiarotti. She is also the coordinator of the Violence Experts Committee at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

She told SEMlac that states have honored only some international commitments because they have enacted laws on domestic or family violence rather than on violence against women.

Results

Most countries of the region see violence against women as a serious violation of human rights.

Several instruments have been developed in the last 20 years to impose restraining orders on abusers. This has been a sign of progress, as have been the categorization of sexual abuse at workplaces and training of justice staff.

Sexual harassment has been categorized in Uruguay; precautionary and/or restraining orders have been adopted in Peru, Argentina and Venezuela; violence categories have been clarified in six countries of the region; and women’s murder for gender reasons has been clearly defined in Guatemala.

The Bolivian legislation only covers family violence in its legislation. Seven countries do not comply with the Convention because they make room for victim-victimizer conciliation.

Shelters in the Dominican Republic are expected to operate using one percent of drawings of lottery. There is no political will or coordination among government-run agencies to tackle the problem.

Aquelarre director Margot Tapia indicated that the local legislation makes no emphasis on violence prevention.

A total of 19 forms of violence against women were categorized in Venezuela a couple of years ago. They include street violence, sexual harassment at work, and violence in the media. "All this is unprecedented in the region", Chiarotti noted.

A law on women’s murder and a specific legislation on violence against women were passed last April in Guatemala.

"Comprehensive laws should be enacted in the region so as to make it possible to implement public policies and budgets, train relevant staff, change school curricula, and promote cultural change", Chiarotti concluded.

RECUADRO

The Women's News Service from Latin America and the Caribbean (SEMlac), International News Agency, offers this weekly service.

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