The Women's Caucus was formed in February 1997, to intervene in the ongoing Preparatory Committee meetings for the establishment of an International Criminal Court at the United Nations. Women realized that without an organized caucus, women's concerns would not be actively defended in the documents and process of creation of an International Criminal Court. The legal issues in the ICC are complex and sensitive. They require people from different legal systems and cultures to arrive at a consensus on specific issues that may challenge local traditions or beliefs. The gender-related issues are particularly sensitive, as they are not as well understood. Gender-related crimes are often perceived to be private or individual crimes that do not rise to the level of international human rights law, or that are perceived to be taken care of by a "neutral" statute. However, the experience of women has been that neutrality usually results in leaving out crimes against women and the ways that women, because of their socially constructed roles in society, are disproportionately affected. It was these concerns that the Women""s Caucus sought to address in the process of creation of an International Criminal Court. By advocating the codification of crimes of sexual, reproductive and gender violence, and inclusion of gender sensitive processes and criteria for personnel, the Caucus tried to ensure that the Court has capacity to implement justice for women. | Footage begins with a group of people including Martha Figueroa and Guadalupe Cardenas clustered around a desk looking at photographs in an office. There is a sign that says 1989-2000 Grupo de Mujeres de San Cristóbal COLEM, and other b-roll of the office interior and exterior. There are CU shots of various newspaper headlines about sexual violence and posters from events. Next there is an interview with Martha Figueroa, a lawyer from the women's rights group, Grupo de Mujeres de San Cristóbal in Chiapas. She discusses the abuses that indigenous women in the region face, including domestic abuse; sexual violence linked to armed conflict; abduction, rape, and subsequent forced marriage; trafficking and prostitution; torture by police and government officials. She talks about how indigenous people are being disappeared and marginalized due to poor health services other than sterilization and contraceptives, and the officials' unwillingness to help women who report crimes. She details the horrors of the Acteal massacre in which paramilitaries killed 45 villagers, primarily of women and children, who were gathered in the village church. She explains how the attack was directed at indigenous people and, in particular, women. She describes the case of Catarina Menéndez-Paciencia, a woman who suffered so many injuries that she cannot work or marry.
Contributor | Contribuidor:
WITNESS (Creator) and Women's Caucus for Gender Justice (Creator)
unedited footage, metraje sin editar, moving image, interviews, entrevistas, b-roll, and b-roll
Extent | Alcance:
01 hours
Rights - Use & Reproduction | Derechos - uso & reproducción:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language | Idioma:
Spanish
Place of publication | Lugar de publicación:
Brooklyn (N.Y.)
Topic | Tema:
Armed conflict and persecution--War crimes, Conflicto armado y persecución--Crímenes de guerra, Civil and political rights--Women's rights, Mujeres--Derechos--Derechos políticos y civiles, Armed conflict and persecution--Paramilitaries, Conflicto armado y persecución--Paramilitares, Armed conflict and persecution--Mass killings, Conflicto armado y persecución--Asesinatos en masa, Armed conflict and persecution--Domestic violence, Conflicto armado y persecución--Violencia doméstica, Economic, social, and cultural rights--Health and healthcare, Derechos económicos, sociales y culturales--Salud y cuidado de la salud, Civil and political rights--Children's rights, Niños--Derechos--Derechos políticos y civiles, Civil and political rights--Reproductive justice, Derechos políticos y civiles--Justicia reproductiva, Economic, social, and cultural rights--Social and cultural rights--Indigenous populations, and Derechos económicos, sociales y culturales--Derechos sociales y culturales--Poblaciones indígenas
Place Name | Nombre del lugar:
North and Central America--Mexico--Chiapas--Acteal, América del Norte y Central--México--Chiapas--Acteal, North and Central America--Mexico--Chiapas--Chimol, América del Norte y Central--México--Chiapas--Chimol, North and Central America--Mexico--Chiapas--San Cristobal de las Casas, and América del Norte y Central--México--Chiapas--San Cristóbal de las Casas
General Note | Notas generales:
A/D flag: physDigital; Generation: original; Signal format: NTSC; Carrier number 1 of 1.
UTL DAMS PID:
hrdi:e140eb52-ad1d-4d96-8fc5-a9b75859fae0
Local Identifier| Identificador local :
B01434-0_00_01_10 and witness_ihwe_3107
Related Resource – Host | Recursos relacionados:
Women's Caucus for Gender Justice's Footage for "If Hope Were Enough" Documentary (title) and https://txarchives.org/hrdi/finding_aids/00005.xml (uri)