During the Expo Foro Mujeres que Hacen, held as part of the commemoration of Paraguayan Women’s Day, the Ministry of Women presented the programme for the Improvement of prevention and care of violence against women in Paraguay, financed by the European Union, Spanish Cooperation and managed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP).

The event, headed by the Minister Cynthia Figueredo, was attended by the Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union, Javier García de Viedma, the Counsellor for Political Affairs, Second Head of the Spanish Embassy in Paraguay, Rodrigo Campos, the Director of Operations of FIIAPP, Lourdes Sartorius, and the representative of the Women of the South Fund, Raquel Aveiro.

Measures to curb violence against women

Figueredo thanked them for their support and reaffirmed her commitment to each woman. She also stressed that the Ministry of Women, as an institution that promotes and guarantees women’s human rights and is the governing body of public policies aimed at implementing the provisions of the law on the comprehensive protection of women against all forms of violence, has among its main actions the comprehensive approach to violence against women with emphasis on the lines of prevention, protection and care.

‘I am pleased that they are reinforced with the support of the European Union in the Programme for the Improvement of Prevention and Attention to Violence against Women, Spanish Cooperation, managed through AECID and FIIAPP,’ said Figueredo.

The Secretary of State has emphasised that providing effective responses in the fight against violence and offering timely and effective attention, with a human rights approach to women, is a task that requires the synergy of the public sector in particular, the institutions that make up the PREVIM Board, the institutions at departmental and municipal level, as well as the private sector, academia, civil society in general, and international cooperation in order to promote a culture of zero tolerance towards the various forms of violence against women.

Institutional and regional cooperation

He emphasised that the key activities framed in the Programme will have an impact at national level, with a marked incidence of the actions in Central and in the department of Alto Paraná through the expansion of information on the problem of violence against women, generating studies and accessible materials that allow for a better understanding of the situation and a more effective response.

She also welcomed the creation of these joint working alliances between various actors and society in general, which strengthens the actions of the State, being a firm step towards a safer and fairer country for all women, as well as the ideal of a life free of violence and the effective enjoyment of women’s rights.

For his part, the Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union, Javier García, highlighted the willingness of the Ministry of Women and all the institutions involved, civil society and the Departments of Central and Alto Paraná: ‘We are happy to see that the Government of Paraguay is building the way to end the scourge of violence against women’, he said.

Lourdes Sartorius, FIIAPP’s Director of Operations, expressed her hope that the project will make an effective contribution to the protection of women’s rights and the consolidation of public policies in this area.

As an artistic moment, the presentation of the programme included the participation of the group Kuña Afro, which was born out of the need to vindicate the role of Afro women at an artistic level in the Kamba Cua community.