In determining that the state of emergency due to gender violence will, in theory, end on June 30, 2022, the idea was to “ shake up the structure ” with set goals compelling the government to take diligent action, the Home Secretary said Affairs. , Noelia Garcia.
“You have to shake the structure. This is not a lifelong emergency plan, it is not perpetual. This is designed to provoke a stop, to provoke an immediate response. If we put it forever, we will not be effective, so we have to set ourselves aggressive challenges to really achieve the implementation that is being pursued, ”García stated in an interview with Subway.
One of the most important tasks that the Committee for the Prevention, Support, Rescue and Education of Gender Violence (PARE)Garcia said, it will be precise to establish the indicators that the records of Pedro Pierluisi measures the impact of the executive order, as well as the areas to be adjusted on the spot.
The governor himself has indicated that he would especially like to see a reduction in the number of femicides over the next 17 months, but acknowledged that the crisis involves several other factors that also need to be carefully analyzed.
“We have statistics, the Women’s Ombudsman has statistics, the police have statistics. What really are the numerical variables to be determined that function as a social thermometer for emergency, they are going to determine that for us (the PARE committee). The first thing that we have to dispute is whether the statistics are correct and whether we are running the statistics with the correct methodology, ”said the Home Secretary.
“An executive order establishing an emergency of gender violence goes to the root of a social problem that we must address in ‘bold’, that we must address as a priority,” said García, who previously served as director of the Congressional District Authority.
García pointed out that during the three weeks elapsed between the inauguration of the new government and the promulgation of the executive order, in addition to having discussions with interest groups and opponents of the emergency declaration, it was possible to identify the agencies suffering the most problems addressing the dynamics related to gender violence.
In particular, the official added, the chain of response to gender violence incidents was found to have too many loose links, preventing proper handling of cases classified as domestic violence, which exceeded 7,000 in 2019 , with women in 84% of them. .
García emphasized that the so-called compliance officer, a person directly appointed by Pierluisi, will have the important function of directly supervising the 10 agencies that, together with the Office of the Ombudsman for Women, form the PARE committee.
“One of the (areas) that certainly needs special affection is the training of emergency workers. From the person who picks up the phone, to the ambulance arriving on the scene, to the arriving police officer, who sends and follows up on the complaint, the entire response line must be alert. Violence against women or gender violence is hidden. We need to make sure we have staff trained to recognize those timid signals that a victim of violence is sending. That is very important and sometimes we fail, ”said the Minister of the Interior, who pointed out that this phase of response and support for victims deserves just as much attention as the aspect of violence prevention.
At a time when it is not known how much budget will be needed to implement the provisions of the emergency declaration, García confirmed that many initiatives do not involve greater expenditure.
“One of the things women representing institutions that protect, educate and help women have told us is that most of the emergencies that need to be done don’t affect much of the budget. (For the part of) Education, we already have social workers and we are bringing education to the police, to the entire emergency chain, ”said García, who pointed out that it will be necessary to cut the roughly $ 1 million rebate that the OPM suffered under his previous budget.
A few days after the governor issued the directive that government agencies and corporations terminate attorney’s service contracts Jerome Garffer, against whom grounds for arrest for a case of gender violence were found, García was not categorical when asked whether the current government would prohibit the awarding of contracts to people accused of this type of behavior.
“Each agency has the discretion to determine whether the event, or its contractor, meets the ethical values that the agency is committed to pursuing. In this case, the governor himself has asked for the contracts to be canceled, ”said García of Garffer, who has been accused at least four times since 2009 of acts of violence against women.
What will be the standard for screening contractors for a history of gender-based violence? Subway.
“It must be limited to ethical facts. The government cannot pursue ephemeral values, we must be responsible for the message we preach … These analyzes must be in-depth. One cannot execute because someone has made an accusation. It cannot be just an accusation. It’s important that you dig deeper and confront the evidence. (Garffer’s case) is already under legal process, ”said García.