PDP issues manifesto on violence against women and girls
By The Star Staff
Loíza Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes, president of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Women’s Organization, met over the weekend with a group of party members, as well as with PDP President Jesús Manuel Ortiz González and his wife Myriam Pérez Ruiz, to initiate several processes of reorganization by districts and to approve a “Manifesto on Violence Against Women and Girls.”
“As part of the processes we are carrying out in our organization, we are taking sides on the important issues in Puerto Rican society, and violence is one of them, but particularly against women and girls,” Nazario Fuentes said.
“Violence against women and girls is a serious violation of human rights, as well as an affront to dignity …” the manifesto reads. “We welcome the United Nations (UN) definition of violence against women as ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.’
“The voices of popular women are raised on behalf of all women who today or in the future are victims of discrimination, physical violence, verbal violence, sexual violence, emotional violence or human trafficking.”
The manifesto in its language considers the current situation in Puerto Rico to be a crisis and calls for an environment where respect and accountability prevail.
“We emphatically repudiate any act of violence and will be vigilant to ensure that our party’s regulations are complied with so that any elected or unelected member of our party who is formally accused of a violent act against a woman is immediately punished,” the manifesto says.
Elected officials should be removed from office and victims must receive all help to “get up and move on,” the document says.
“But we also understand that the perpetrator must receive all the necessary psychological help since otherwise, history will repeat itself again and again. Violence against women and girls is rooted in discrimination based on gender and power,” reads the manifesto. “From our perspective, there is much to do with education and families. That is why we intend to work on a scientifically based document to present it to our party and that it will eventually be presented as part of our government plan.”
PDP women from the 40 representative districts, as well as from the eight senatorial districts that make up Puerto Rico, participated in the event.
“We will continue to hold these types of events, as well as training on effective leadership and electoral issues,” Nazario Fuentes said.