By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of downtown San José Monday to mark the international day of non-violence against women.

The march started at 9 a.m. from the park known as La Merced on the Second Avenue, and ended at the  Plaza de la Democracia in San Jose's downtown.

The U.N. General Assembly has designated Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. "The premise of the day is to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence. Furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden," said organizers in its statement.

The march was organized by the National Women's Institute, with the participation of representatives of several public institutions, embassies and  non-profit organizations, among others.

According to the institute, the "Soy Luz Naranja" campaign means "I am orange light" in Spanish, which is being carried out to raise awareness about the importance of fighting violence against women and girls.

"With the campaign we seek, throughout November, to draw attention to the issue of violence against women and girls and how to eradicate it," said Patricia Mora, president of the institute.

According to the institute, "I am orange light", means being a person who is part of a life free of violence against women and girls. The orange color is the official color of nonviolence against women in the world, said the institute.

According to the institute, some ways to avoid violence against women are:

- Do not post messages on social networks to denigrate women.

- Report to authorities street harassment.

- Report any act of physical or psychological violence against women.

- Believe in women when they say they have been victims of violence.

"The eradication of violence against women and girls is not only a duty of women, but the commitment must also be made by men, the state, organizations, companies and the society," said the institute in its statement.

According to the Presidential House statement, the number of murders of women registered this year was 11. During 2018, 24 deaths of women were recorded.


Nov. 12 the Special Permanent Commission of Women voted in favor of bill No. 20.299, entitled Law against Street Sexual Harassment.

According to a summary, the bill has the goal of guaranteeing the equal right of all persons to stay free from sexual harassment in public spaces, in private places with public access and in public transportation services.

"The bill defines street sexual harassment of any kind of behavior with sexual connotation and unidirectional character, without the consent or acceptance of the person to whom it is addressed with the potential to cause discomfort, intimidation, humiliation, insecurity, fear and offense, which usually comes from an unknown person to the other person who receives it, and that takes place in public or public access spaces," said the Assembly commission in its statement.

Likewise, the project establishes that all public institutions have the mandate to carry out policies and actions aimed at eradicating gender prejudices based on the idea of the superiority of men and the inferiority of women and promoting actions that include public and private organizations, guarantee the rights to equality between women and men.

As for the penalties, the bill  also establishes "who in a public space or public access, masturbates himself, exhibits or shows his/her genitals with a sexual connotation, to another person without his/her consent, will get six months to one year in prison plus a fine only if that fault does not constitute another crime with a higher penalty."

In addition, the proposed law would also punish those who in a public space, record, capture, or produce audio, visual or audiovisual material with a sexual connotation of another person without their consent. That fault will result in a prison sentence plus a fine only if that fault does not constitute another crime with a higher penalty.

According to Deputy Ivonne Acuña, who voted in favor of the bill, "without a doubt the sexual harassment is something that we must stop in the country. Women who are in this commission in some way or another have lived with what is street sexual harassment."

According to the Assembly, the analysis of this project lasted more than a year because this bill introduces an issue that was not in the country's constitutional law, which is street sexual harassment.

After the vote in favor of the committee of deputies, the project is being sent to a second discussion and vote by the congress where it may become a law.

 



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Should deputies speed up the second voting process of the bill to create the law against sexual harassment? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com

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