Closing Session of Gender & Policy Forum 2022-23 Leaves Attendees Inspired and Empowered

On Friday, May 5, a group of scholars and policymakers came together to participate in the latest installment of the Spring 2023 Gender and Policy Forum, titled “Ending Violence Against Women.” The panel took place on Zoom and was live-streamed to an audience of dozens of students and researchers from across the Americas. Speaking in Spanish, Portuguese, and English with the help of live interpretation, the panelists had a lively conversation about how to conceptualize and solve gender-based violence in the 21st century.

The panel’s moderator Tamara Martínez, who is a Gender Equality Coordinator at UNAM, started the session by expressing gratitude to LAIGN, CLAIS, and the interpreters for working to make this series possible. As Martínez explained, the Gender and Policy Forum has three main goals: fostering an exchange of ideas about gender between researchers and policymakers; creating a professional network of people dedicated to gender justice; and promoting leadership strategies for feminist professionals in research and policy.

After sharing these opening remarks, Martínez presented the session’s participants. She first introduced Judith Mariscal Avilés, who is a researcher at CIDE and the Executive Director of Centro Latam Digital, along with Silvana Leiva, who is a Professor of Administration and Politics and a Project Advisor for Centro Latam Digital. These two scholars shared a short presentation about online violence against women and the many questions it poses for academic researchers.

Next, Martínez introduced Silke Mayra Arndt, who works as a public defender for the City of Buenos Aires, and Anielle Franco, who is Brazil’s Minister of Racial Equality and the founder of the Marielle Franco Institute. Both presenters offered their unique perspectives as policymakers on the issue of violence against women and highlighted its disproportionate impact on poor and Indigenous women in Latin America.

Following their individual remarks, the four panelists engaged in a lively discussion led by Martínez about ways to prevent and eliminate online harassment and violence. They then opened up the discussion to attendees for a lively Q&A session.

If you are interested in attending future installments of the Gender & Policy Forum or any other CLAIS events, be sure to check out the CLAIS Events Calendar here!