To commemorate International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which is celebrated every November 25th, the law undergraduate program, the students’ union and the free legal assistance office in our branch campus in Quito, along with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID for its acronym in Spanish) organized the event “Free, equal and diverse” (Libres, iguales y deiversas).

The event focused on creating awareness of the problems of women under conditions of human mobility who are victims of violence. There was also a fair to present the institutions that work on regularization processes for migrant women, as well as the comprehensive care services they require due to their vulnerable situation.  

 
The participating institutions were: Fundación Dignidad, Organización Tremendas Ecuador, Fundación Ciudadanas del Mundo (FCM), Organización Internacional para las Migraciones de las Naciones Unidas (OIM) and Consultorio Jurídico Gratuito (CJG). There was a talk in “El Giron” campus led by Ljubica Fuentes, from; FCM; Karla Perez, from Tremendas Ecuador; Belen Corredores, prosecutor from Pichincha; Daniela Parbón, from OIM Ecuador; and Silvia Gomez, from the student wellbeing department.

Pérez spoke about the violence that women, girls and adolescents experience in activism and cyber-activism. He explained that “Tremendas Ecuador” started in times of pandemic and seeks to use digital spaces to reflect on gender violence. “Digital media reflect what society is, it is a place where everything is replicated, shared and commented on. The same discourses and violence of society are going to be replicated on social networks,” he said.

 
Gómez presented the internal intervention protocol that UPS manages in cases of harassment, discrimination and violence, “we cannot continue naturalizing violence. It is important to know the protocol; inform ourselves and report anything. “What may seem like a joke can end up harming life,” he said.

 
Pabón spoke about gender-based violence towards women in situations of human mobility. He said that in these cases there are no support networks and many do not know how the protection systems or legal systems work in the country where they arrive, which becomes a risk factor.

 
Fuentes spoke about gender violence within higher education institutions, in which power relations predominate over defense, protection and justice for the victims. He indicated that these power relations cause teachers, directors or authorities to cover up cases of violence so as not to harm the position and career of the perpetrator. He insisted that the victims need to receive accompaniment and support to continue and complete their studies.