CAF supports the third edition of the campaign “Violence-free Relationships. 50 Days of Reflection”

Encouraging reflection, raising awareness and promoting cultural change to achieve gender equality are the goals of CAF-development bank of Latin America- in supporting the third edition of “Violence-free Relationships. 50 Days of Reflection” campaign.

The action is implemented nationwide by different public and private institutions, community organizations and media outlets, and it seeks the active participation of adolescents and young people from across the country in activities that foster ties based on mutual respect and care.

Violence in relationships among young people and adolescents runs counter to the enjoyment and exercise of their rights. Family, the educational system, peer groups and other social spaces are vital in preventing these situations and promoting violence-free relationships, as they prevent this type of behavior from becoming commonplace and setting a behavioral pattern for the future.

“As an institution, one of our goals is to design, participate in and support initiatives that promote an inclusive, more integrated society. Young people are the future of the country and we must support them in different realms of their lives, helping educationally and economically, but also in their relationships and social aspects, giving them tools to live in harmony,” said Germán Ríos, CAF representative in Uruguay.

The program’s launch ceremony was attended by the Ministers of Social Development and Industry, Marina Arismendi and Carolina Cosse; the Deputy Secretary of Education and Culture, Edith Moraes; the Director of the National Women’s Institute (Inmujeres), Mariela Mazzoti; the Counselor of the National Public Education Administration, Laura Motta; the Director of Social Development of the Municipality of Montevideo, Fabiana Goyeneche; the President of Uruguay’s National Institute for Children and Adolescents, Marisa Lindner and the Mayor of Montevideo’s Municipality B, Carlos Varela.

Mazzoti delivered the keynote speech, where she thanked CAF for the support, in addition to other initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality.

One of these actions is “Por el juego, por tus derechos” (for the game, for your rights), an educational and sports project developed jointly with INMUJERES, UN Women, ONFI and OFI, for the purpose of bringing about a cultural transformation to achieve gender equality through soccer among children and youngsters.

Seven of every ten women in Uruguay declared having experienced situations of gender- and generation-based violence (VBGG) at some point in their lives. If we specifically analyze intimate partner violence among young women, gender-based rates are even higher.

Considering that the situation is also common in other Latin American countries, CAF and the UNDP have launched a regional program against gender-based violence. In the start-up phase, this program will devise a Framework Model for a Comprehensive Approach to Violence Against Women and Girls through the exchange of best practices among beneficiary countries — Argentina, Ecuador and Peru — and technical assistance activities.