Feminist activists in Uruguay will maintain a sit-in on Friday following the information {that a} lady recognized as Milagros Chamorro died by suicide after looking for justice for a gang rape she was a sufferer of on the age of 15.
The hashtag #JusticiaPorMili (“Justice for Mili”) is circulating social media platforms, drawing renewed consideration to gender violence within the South American nation.
Previous to her dying, Milagros told the Instagram account @feminismo.uruguay that she had been invited to a buddy’s home in Punta del Este, the place she fell unconscious after ingesting alcohol offered to her, and was raped. She recalled being photographed and filmed too: content material Milagros stated was then distributed on-line, resulting in “years” of harassment. Milagros stated that 4 of her attackers had been 17 years outdated and considered one of them was 18 on the time.
Twelve years after the incident, which came about in 2010, Milagros filed a prison criticism in Montevideo. The case was referred to Maldonado, the district the place Punta del Este relies. The case was closed that very same 12 months, in 2022.
María Elena Maciel, the general public defender who took on Milagros’ case, explained that, on the time of the assault, the statute of limitations in circumstances the place the aggressors had been minors was one 12 months.
Three months in the past, Milagros started pursuing authorized recommendation with a view to reopen the case. She discovered a lawyer who specialised in human rights, although she in the end didn’t take any additional motion. On Friday, she took her personal life in hospital, whereas ready for emergency psychiatric help.
The Instagram account @feminismo.uruguay has organized a collective sit-in in entrance of the Maldonado police station on Friday. The put up clarifies, “There might be one other march, however first we are going to course of our grief in silence,” including {that a} march might be organized in Montevideo sooner or later.
Employees and college students from the Jap Regional College Centre (CURE) in Maldonado, the place Milagros was learning for a grasp’s diploma in public coverage, have planned their very own protest on Friday. The College can be organizing a workshop which is able to happen subsequent week.
Andrea Tuana, a consultant from the human rights group El Paso told information program Subrayado that Milagros’ case demonstrates the challenges ladies face when reporting sexual violence.
“There’s a class referred to as femicide-suicide, and I believe it may be utilized to this case,” she stated. “It’s a femicide-suicide as a result of the hand that kills will not be solely that of the aggressor, but additionally the social and institutional system that doesn’t restore, doesn’t accompany and doesn’t demand that justice, it additionally kills.” She went on, “Sadly, it is vitally widespread for victims of sexual violence to have very sturdy impacts on their psychological well being.”
In a 2021 interview with la diaria, Susana Quagliata, an professional in suicides with a Grasp’s diploma in psychology, acknowledged femicide-suicide to be an issue in Uruguay, although one which stays stigmatized, as a result of “On this society, no one believes that somebody would commit suicide [because of gender-based violence].” She added, “It’s actually tough for us to get femicide acknowledged as against the law.”
